Innocence Lost
by Sgt. Hakeswill
Summary: Tavington kidnaps Anne Howard Martin as part of his campaign to harass and confound Ben Martin's militia, hoping to flush them out of hiding. He soon finds that some parts of doing his duty can be a real pleasure. Anne/Tavington, Anne/Bordon.
1. Anne's Loss

_A/N: This story takes place at approximately the same time as events in The Patriot. Some scenes from the movie are included, but differ in chronological order and context._

_Disclaimer: Any lines/scenes quoted from the script of the movie "The Patriot" are done solely for the purpose of continuity between this story and the movie. There is no malicious intent and no profit is gained by the author._

_This is the first longish Patriot story I wrote, seven years ago, and it's a bit of a soap opera, 18th century style. Anne gets a major case of Stockholm Syndrome in this story._

---

**Chapter One --Anne's Loss**

On the ride back home to Pembroke with her parents, Anne Howard Martin smiled shyly to herself as she remembered her wedding night with Gabriel. Becoming his in every way had been all she'd hoped it would be and more. Though they'd parted only a short time ago, Anne missed him already.

As the wagon rumbled inland toward Pembroke in the early morning sunshine, Anne mentally replayed their night together, wanting to commit every bit of it to memory. Despite the wartime restrictions, the young woman could not have imagined a finer wedding or a more romantic wedding night. She sighed in longing for the husband she'd so recently parted from, wondering how long it would be before he'd be able to slip away from the fighting to pay her a visit.

_"I wish we had more time together," Anne said, clinging to Gabriel while her parents waited in the wagon. "I don't ever want to let you out of my sight again."_

_Gabriel Martin hugged Anne closer, giving her a tender kiss. "Me, too," he agreed. "But I've still got a war to fight and the men are depending on me."_

_"I know, I understand," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder.  
_

_"And Tavington is still out there. I won't rest until he's stopped," Gabriel vowed. "I cannot allow Thomas' death to pass unavenged."  
_

_Anne shivered at the mention of Tavington's name. "Be careful, Gabriel," she warned. "He's a very dangerous man." Kissing him again, she added, "Come home to me soon."_

_"You can count on that."_

"Thinking about Gabriel?" Mrs Howard asked gently as the wagon neared Pembroke.

"Oh, yes, Mother," Anne answered with a shy smile. "Always."

Both women fell silent as they saw a large number of Green Dragoons ahead as they approached the southern outskirts of the village. Anne looked at her father with fearful apprehension.

The Howards had encountered increasing evidence of dragoon activity the nearer they came to Pembroke, passing burned-out farmhouses along the way. At one homestead, they'd come upon a man who had been recently hanged from a tall tree near the road. Though they'd been able to forget the war for a short while at the Gullah village, every mile they rode closer to home graphically reminded them of why they'd joined the rebellion. And now it seemed as if the war was waiting for them to get home.

"I wonder what they want?" Anne asked her father, fearfully twisting her handkerchief in her lap.

"I have no idea," her father replied. "But you can be certain that it will be trouble for us."

"Turn around," Mrs Howard urged her husband. "Let's go hide in the woods until they're gone."

"Too late," Mr Howard said heavily. "They've already seen us." He pointed, indicating Captain James Wilkins, who was riding toward them.

"All town residents are to go to the church for a meeting," Wilkins said when he'd reached the wagon. "Colonel Tavington's orders."

Howard did not reply, but followed Wilkins as he escorted the wagon into the town.

When Anne's father stopped the wagon in front of the church, they saw soldiers herding their neighbors inside. As she stepped from the wagon and followed her parents into the building, she noticed a single mounted dragoon watching from a short distance away. Anne shuddered as she recognized Colonel William Tavington, her stomach queasy with fear at the sight of him.

No sooner had Anne and her parents entered the church than they were shocked by Tavington riding his horse into the sanctuary. He suddenly stopped, his horse blocking the door. His blatant desecration of their beloved church clearly indicated to the Howards and others the utter contempt in which Tavington regarded the villagers.

Having gained everyone's attention with this intimidating maneuver, he slowly removed his bear fur crested helmet, then stated, "This town has given aid to Benjamin Martin and his rebels. I wish to know his whereabouts." After a pause, he continued, "So. Anyone who comes forward may be forgiven their treason."

None of the villagers spoke. They glared up at Tavington in wordless defiance.

"Very well," Tavington said, his lip curled in scorn. "You had your chance." He turned, preparing to leave.

Again, there was an uncomfortable silence. Suddenly, Mr Hardwick, who was in the back, pushed his way forward through the crowd. "Wait! This man gives Martin and his men supplies, " he said, pointing to Peter Howard. "He brings them to Black Swamp."

Howard blanched, then hissed, "Quiet!"

"He's in the marsh, by the old Spanish mission," the informant continued.

"You damned fool," Howard growled.

"This man here?" Tavington said, looking at Howard.

"Yes, sir," Hardwick affirmed.

"Black swamp, you say? By the old Spanish mission?" Tavington wanted to make sure he had it straight.

"He's a liar!" Anne exclaimed in frustration.

"Yes," Hardwick confirmed. "Not only that, this man's daughter just married Martin's son." Indicating a young woman just behind Anne, he elaborated, "I overheard her telling that woman over there."

Turning to indicate Anne, Hardwick added, "And this little lady here has been one of the biggest rebel instigators all along. She brazenly shamed herself and shamed her family by daring to speak out in church to urge all the townsmen to join Martin's militia the day his son came to recruit. She's always meddled in affairs that are none of her concern and her parents have never made her behave as a proper lady should."

"That's very interesting," Tavington said, a malevolent grin spreading across his face. "Thank you very much."

Regarding Anne with a predatory expression, he suddenly lunged forward, reaching down to pull her up onto the horse with him. With Anne seated astride in front of him, he moved to leave the church.

"Shut the doors," he called out in a low voice to a soldier waiting outside.

"But what about me?" the informant whined. "You said we'd be forgiven. I haven't told you all I know yet."

"This young woman will tell me," he said, pausing at the door. "It may take a bit of.....persuasion....but she will tell me what I want to know." Smirking at the informant, Tavington said in parting, "So far as forgiveness goes, that's between you and God."

As he rode out, the soldier quickly closed the church doors behind him, then secured them with a chain threaded through both door handles, to which he attached a sturdy padlock. Other soldiers fanned out around the church closing all the shutters.

Captain Wilkins rode up to Tavington in the churchyard and said, "Ready to fire the town on your orders, sir."

"The town?" he said with a snort, looking at Anne intently. "Burn the church."

"There is no honor in this!" Wilkins said, disgust clearly showing on his face.

Before Tavington could respond, Anne cried out, "No! You can't do this!" She struggled in vain to break free of Tavington, who had been holding her loosely around the waist.

Instantly, Tavington slapped her hard across the face. "Be quiet!" he hissed. "That is, unless you want to join them in the church."

Anne did not reply, but began whimpering softly.

Tavington turned back to Wilkins. "Didn't you say that all those who stand against England deserve to die a traitor's death?" Looking at the other man with thinly veiled contempt, he said firmly, "Burn the church, Captain."

Wilkins paused for a long moment, at war with his conscience. Finally, he threw the first torch, with it landing squarely on the roof, which immediately caught fire. Several other soldiers followed suit and the church was soon fully engulfed in flames. Within moments, everyone heard frantic shrieks emanating from the doomed villagers inside the church.

At the sight and sounds of this, Anne began wailing loudly. Tavington slapped her again, harder than the first time. "I told you to keep quiet!" he growled in irritation. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, then roughly stuffed it into Anne's mouth to gag her. Calling to Captain Bordon, who was to his left, he ordered, "Bind her hands."

Anne looked at Bordon with pleading eyes as he moved his horse closer to comply with Tavington's order. Pulling a short length of rope from his haversack, he bound her wrists as gently as he could. Before turning away, he gave her a pitying look. He'd wanted to say something to comfort her, but did not dare in front of Tavington.

"Have the men round up all worthwhile horses they find," Tavington told Bordon. "Also, have them check the houses for whatever money and small valuables they can carry. Tell them to be quick about it; we will move out in fifteen minutes."

"Yes, sir." He moved off immediately to carry out his superior officer's orders.

After leaving Pembroke, the dragoons rode in the opposite direction from where Anne had come in with her family, headed toward the dragoon camp. Anne was quiet now, in numb shock about what had happened to her parents and neighbors, and fearful about what was to become of her.

She slowly became aware of Tavington's breath on the back of her neck. He reached around and removed the handkerchief from her mouth, but left her hands bound.

"I trust that you will either remain quiet or keep your voice low," Tavington told her as he stuffed the handkerchief back into his pocket.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked. "What do you want with me? I don't know anything important."

"Surely you are not that stupid, _Mrs Martin_," Tavington drawled, saying her name slowly with emphasis. "I have no doubt you know quite a bit of information that would prove to be useful to me."

"I don't know anything," she insisted doggedly

"Eventually, you will tell me everything I want to know," he said casually. "I always get what I want."

"Not this time," the young woman shot back in open defiance.

"Hmm, I think it's time you were taught a lesson in cooperation," Tavington said, a low undercurrent of menace in his voice. "I don't think you quite understand whom you're dealing with."

Anne understood only too well what he meant to do. She'd suddenly felt the evidence of his intentions pressing against her backside. She leaned forward as far as she could, shrinking away from him.

At that moment, Tavington spotted a clearing ahead with a creek running behind it. It was a perfect place for a rest stop. Turning to Bordon, he said, "We will stop here for one hour. Have the men water the horses."

Bordon nodded as he moved to carry out Tavington's orders.

---  
Next chapter: A Lesson in Cooperation


	2. A Lesson in Cooperation

**Chapter Two: A Lesson In Cooperation**

Benjamin and Gabriel Martin were puzzled as they rode into Pembroke with their men later that afternoon. They'd noticed black smoke billowing up from the village from the distance and had urged their horses on. As they entered the town, which was silent and deserted, their apprehension grew.

As soon as he saw the burned, ruined church, Gabriel jumped off his horse and ran into the Howard home. "Anne! Are you there? Where are you?"

Other men fanned out through the village checking houses.

Benjamin Martin, however, headed directly to the smoldering remains of the church. He felt sick at heart, as he instinctively realized what had happened. When he saw the chain and padlock around what was left of the church's door, his worst suspicions were confirmed. Suddenly exhausted, he sank to his knees, looking up at the sky as if to ask, "Why, God?"

After a short while, his eyes wandered and he noticed something gleaming in the grass. Moving to pick it up, he saw it was the very same necklace he'd given Anne just before her marriage to Gabriel. He didn't dare hope that she'd somehow been spared being burned to death. At this moment, Gabriel came up behind him, his glance falling onto the pendant his father held. He rushed forward, grabbing it from his father's hand.

"Oh, God, let her be alive!" Gabriel fell into his father's arms, who hugged him tightly.

Both men turned when they heard Reverend Oliver walk up to them with a young girl beside him.

"This is Betsy Greene," the minister explained. "I found her huddling in the corner of her parents' root cellar.

"Did you see anything," Benjamin asked her softly.

"British soldiers," she said in a flat monotone. "Green Dragoons." The girl was still shaking from what she'd witnessed.

"It's all right now," he said, putting a gentle hand on her arm. "What else did you see?"

"They put everyone in the church and set it on fire," she said, tears beginning to form. "They screamed so loud." She was sobbing now. "I was so s-scared. I wanted to help them, but I didn't dare come out!"

"You did the right thing," Benjamin said, patting her gently on the shoulder.

Looking at Gabriel, she said, "I just remembered that I saw Miss Howard leaving with the British soldiers."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Colonel Tavington had her on his horse with him."

"Tavington!" Gabriel exclaimed. Though relieved that she was alive, he knew that Anne was still in grave danger. "We've got to go after her before he does something to her!"

"I agree," Benjamin said, "Let's go!"

Before leaving, Benjamin turned to the minister, "Reverend, please see that someone takes Betsy to Mrs Selton. We'll keep her with my children unless some of her relatives can be found."

"I'll take her myself," the minister said. "You can count on that."

"Thank you."

---

"Here, let me help you." Captain Bordon reached up to help Anne as Tavington handed her down from the horse.

"Thank you." She looked at the ginger headed officer gratefully. Stiff from riding so long, she stamped her feet to get the circulation going again.

"That will be all, Bordon," Tavington said, dismissing his second in command with a wave of the hand. After quickly dismounting and grabbing a blanket from his pack, he took Anne's arm to lead her behind a group of large bushes on the other side of the creek. "See that we're not disturbed."

"Yes, sir."

Anne looked back over her shoulder at Bordon, her eyes beseeching, as Tavington led her away. He shrugged helplessly, powerless to prevent what was about to happen.

When they were out of sight of the soldiers, Tavington neatly spread the blanket on the grass near a tree, then pushed Anne down upon it, with her back against the tree.

"Do you have any idea why I spared your life?" he demanded as she looked up at him, eyes dilated in fear.

"You want me to tell you about my father in law and the militia," she replied

"That man in the church told me all I needed to know," he said dismissively.

"Then why?" She was both puzzled and fearful all at once.

"I need to flush out Benjamin Martin and his men," he said. "I prefer to fight them on my own terms." Reaching down to run his hand through her hair, he said in a silky voice, "What better way to do that than ravishing his son's wife, hmm?" He removed his helmet, then released his hair from its tight queue as he spoke, as he intended to wash up after he'd finished with the young woman..

"Oh, I beg of you, please don't do this!" Anne said, trying to inch away from him..

Without warning, Tavington jerked Anne to her feet and pinned her back against the tree. He moved closer until his lips were almost touching hers.

Anne stared wide-eyed at him. From the first moment she'd met him, she had been painfully aware of his breathtakingly handsome appearance; it was something she could not deny as much as she wanted to. It was now even more apparent with his long, nearly black hair hanging loosely about his shoulders. But she grimaced when she gazed into his icy blue, soulless eyes. Anne knew then that Tavington would show her no mercy.

As he pressed his body against hers, Anne turned her head and attempted to twist away from him.

"Now then," he said in a deceptively soft voice. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." He pulled her head back to face him. "It makes no difference to me. I intend to have you and that is exactly what is going to happen, no matter what. You would be wise to accept it. Things will go a lot easier for you if you do." In a husky voice, he added, "You might even find it pleasant."

Tavington leaned forward to kiss Anne's neck in an unhurried manner. A lock of his hair brushed against the side of her neck, bringing with it the scent of his cologne, mixed with that of leather and horses.

Anne remained still, willing herself to think of other things. She closed her eyes, imagining it was Gabriel kissing her. The young woman knew that he'd hurt her or perhaps even kill her if she tried to run, so she was determined to endure what she could not avoid, knowing they'd be on their way within an hour.

"That's a smart girl," Tavington purred as he felt her relax in his arms. He loosened the bodice of her dress, exposing her small breasts. Without giving her a chance to react, he bent and took one nipple into his mouth as his hand lazily rubbed the other.

Though she tried, Anne could not repress the tiniest of shudders when she felt Tavington's mouth upon her.

Tavington let that pass, as he sensed she was doing her best to control her instinctive reactions. And he was confident that she soon would not be reacting to his touch in such a manner.

After a few moments, he unbuttoned his breeches to release his almost painfully hard member. With the other hand, he raised her petticoats to her waist, tucking them up in her apron. Pausing for a moment, Tavington gazed in frank appreciation at the triangle of curly blond hair between her legs.

Anne stiffened in his arms as she felt his hand touch her most intimate place.

"Relax," he said softly. "This will go easier for you if you do." Pushing one, then two fingers inside of her, he attempted to make her ready for him.

Despite her fear and disgust, Anne finally moistened against Tavington's fingers.

"There now, don't you see?" Tavington said with the slightest hint of a smile. "I knew you wanted it." With no further delay he lifted her up and set her down on his erection, with them both leaning back against the tree.

Anne instinctively raised her legs and wrapped them around Tavington's waist in an attempt to remain balanced. She gasped as Tavington completely filled her.

"I thought you were a married woman," he said, noting that she winced as he entered her. "Or was Martin not man enough to consummate the marriage?" Tavington smirked at the notion of this.

"He's more of a man that you are!" Anne cried, eyes blazing. "It's just that you are so much......bigger....than he is."

To her surprise, Tavington nearly hooted with laughter. "Why does that not surprise me?" He bent to kiss her again, prying her mouth open with his insistent tongue. "As long as you're with me, I will show you how much more of a man I am than Martin," he said after the kiss ended.

He began to move, scraping Anne's back nearly raw against the tree as the thrusts increased in tempo and intensity.

Anne kept her eyes shut tightly, desperately pretending it was Gabriel who held her so intimately.

Tavington panted roughly as he neared his peak, a low moan beginning deep in his throat. Finally, Anne felt him shudder as he released his seed within her.

"Gabriel!" she cried. Anne had nearly succeeded in pretending it was her husband who was making love to her. She was brought rudely back to reality when Tavington slapped her hard across the face.

"I will soon have you crying out my name in passion," he vowed, furious at the mention of Martin's name. "I will make you forget you ever knew him." Pulling out from Anne, he wiped himself off with his handkerchief, then stuffed himself back into his breeches. "I will have you many more times before I am finished with you."

Anne sank slowly to the ground after Tavington had pulled her skirt back down to cover her. She remained silent, too heartsick to speak.

Tavington quickly strode to the edge of the bushes, "Bordon!" he called out.

"Yes, sir?" His second in command had lingered a short distance away on the other side of the bushes to keep curious dragoons away.

"I am going to shave and wash up before we head on," he said. "Have someone watch Mrs Martin while I do this."

"I will do it," Bordon immediately volunteered.

"Fine," Tavington said, already heading to his horse to get his shaving supplies out of his haversack. After retrieving them, he headed down to the creek, Anne Martin forgotten for the moment.

Anne hung her head and turned away in shame as Bordon walked over to her. She realized that he, and probably all the other men under Tavington's command, knew what had just happened.

"Are you all right?" Bordon asked her.

She did not reply, but gulped as tears started down her cheeks.

"Don't be afraid," Bordon said gently. "I won't hurt you."

"I'm so ashamed," she whispered. "And scared."

"You're not the one who should be ashamed," Bordon said, turning to look at Tavington shaving at the creek.

Anne fell silent as she followed Bordon's gaze. Looking back at Bordon, she said, "Thank you for your concern. You've been a comfort to me."

"It's nothing," he said. "I wish I could do more to help you."

"I understand, " she replied. "But it helps to know that someone cares."

A few moments later, Tavington returned to collect Anne. "You may go now, Bordon," he said. "I will take her from here."

Bordon turned and walked away without comment.

Tavington retrieved his jacket from the blanket, putting it back on. After brushing his hair, he rebraided it, then wrapped the braid with the black ribbon to complete the queue with practiced, efficient movements.

Despite her utter disgust for this man, Anne could not help but watch Tavington in fascination as he groomed himself.

Almost as if he could read her conflicting thoughts, Tavington returned her stare with the merest hint of a grin. For about a half minute, each regarded the other with simple curiosity. Breaking the spell, Anne averted her eyes first as she remembered the unspeakable things he'd done that day.

Tavington helped Anne to her feet, all business once more. But to her surprise, his touch was gentle as he took her hand

As he gathered and folded the blanket he said, "I will unbind your hands if you promise to behave yourself. I'm sure you know what would happen if you tried to escape."

"I won't try anything," Anne promised quietly. "After today, I am under no illusion of exactly what you are capable of."

After freeing her hands, Tavington led Anne back to his horse. He helped her to mount, then quickly swung up into the saddle behind her. As the men mounted up and grouped themselves behind him, Tavington methodically donned his black leather riding gloves.

"Move out," he ordered, gesturing forward with one gloved hand.

---

"Maybe we need to stop for the night, and begin searching again in the morning," Benjamin Martin said after several fruitless hours on horseback looking for Anne.

"Just a little while longer," Gabriel pleaded. "I can't stand the idea of Anne having to be with Tavington any longer than she has to be."

"All right," Benjamin said. "We've got about another hour of daylight before we'll have to stop."

The men continued on in silence, too weary to talk, each lost in their own thoughts..

"Look over there!" Gabriel called out a short time later, pointing to a clearing up ahead on his left. "Do you see?"

"Let's take a look," his father said.

"Lots of hoof prints," Gabriel noted. "They must have stopped here."

"It would seem so." The older man had dismounted and was walking around looking for clues. Crouching down by the remains of a campfire, he said, "Cold. They've been gone quite awhile."

Gabriel was down at the creek, having followed footprints leading in that direction. As Ben came over to join him, he noticed something white stuck against a tree near the creek. Moving closer, he saw that it was a scrap of lace.

"What do you have there," Gabriel asked.

"It's a bit of lace," his father replied, examining it closely.

"It must have come off Anne's dress." Leaning against the tree, he realized that Anne must have been in some sort of a struggle. "We've got to find her!"

"We will," Benjamin assured him. "If Tavington meant to kill her, he would have locked her up in the church with her parents." Walking back to the horses, he said, "Let's camp here for the night. We'll start again early in the morning."

---  
A/N Next chapter: The First Night


	3. The First Night

**Chapter Three -- The First Night**

Tavington's dragoons arrived back at their home base shortly after dusk after an uneventful trip through the countryside. The large Sizemore plantation and estate had been host to both Tavington's and Tarleton's Legions for several months. Since the plantation had become a dragoon encampment, a tall wooden fence with guard towers had been constructed around the perimeter of the estate, as well as a tightly constructed abatis which would deter any sudden attacks by rebel forces.

As they entered the gate leading to the mansion, Anne saw a tent encampment in a field not far from the mansion. After Tavington had dismissed his men for the night, most of them had turned their horses toward the encampment. Tavington, Bordon, and Wilkins, however, headed toward the mansion. As the three ranking dragoon officers, they were quartered inside the Sizemore home, as was the commanding officer of the other dragoon unit, Banastre Tarleton, along with his top officers. The Sizemores were a Loyalist family, who had gladly opened their estate to the British forces.

Anne was relieved to finally be off the horse, not used to riding for that long. However, she was uneasy as Tavington led her up the steps leading to the mansion, with Bordon and Wilkins following close behind. She noticed several soldiers posted at strategic locations around the house, dashing any hope of escape.

As they walked through the front door, a well dressed woman in her forties came over to greet them.

"Ah, Colonel Tavington," she said, smiling graciously. "You and your officers are just in time for dinner." She regarded Anne with frank curiosity, but did not comment.

"You are very kind, Mrs Sizemore," Tavington said. "We would be honoured." Indicating Anne, he continued, "However, Mrs Martin is tired from our long ride. Would you please have someone escort her to my quarters and send up a plate of food to her?"

Mrs Sizemore lifted one eyebrow imperceptibly, aware of what Tavington's request implied about his relationship with the young woman. Nevertheless, she kept her opinion to herself. "Of course, Colonel." She gestured to a slave woman, who stood quietly near the stairs.

"This way, miss," the slave woman said. "If you please."

Anne turned to look at Tavington as she moved to follow the older woman.

"It's all right," Tavington said. "I'll join you shortly."

After following the woman up one flight of steps, Anne was directed to a large bedroom on the west wing of the mansion.

"Here we are," the slave said, opening the door to Tavington's quarters. "This is the colonel's room."

"It's very nice," Anne said automatically as she looked around the comfortable room, decorated to suit a man's taste.

"Is there anything you need before I go get you some supper?"

"Not right now, thank you," Anne said. "What is your name?"

"Sally, miss," she replied. "If you need anything while you're here, just call for me."

"Thank you, Sally," Anne said. "I shall certainly do that."

After Sally had shut the door behind her, Anne threw herself on the bed, giving in to her despair. Now that she was alone in the quiet room with nothing to distract her, Anne's thoughts were immediately returned to the horrific events that had transpired that day, Gasping, gulping sobs escaped her as she couldn't help but imagine how her doomed parents must have frantically tried to escape the flames that eventually consumed them, . As this gruesome image of their probable final moments replayed inside her head and the throbbing ache between her legs reminded her of Tavington's violation, her sobs turned into a keening wail, which she attempted to muffle with a pillow she'd picked up from the bed. The fact that the pillow was redolent of Tavington's personal scent only served to increase her anguish.

Finally, her wailing diminished into subdued sniffling as she rocked herself back and forth on the bed, clutching the now-sodden pillow. A few minutes later, Sally found her still rocking when she brought Anne a plate of food from the kitchen.

Quickly placing the food on a side table, Sally rushed to the distraught young woman in concern. She wanted to hug Anne to comfort her, but hesitated as she didn't want to presume any unwanted familiarity.

"Miss, are you all right?" the slave woman asked softly.

"I'll be all right in a few moments," Anne assured her, knowing she had to pull herself together before Tavington returned. Looking up at the other woman's concerned expression, she hesitantly explained, "My parents were killed today and I was kidnapped by the dragoons." After a pause to wipe her eyes, she quickly added, "But you must not speak of it to anyone as there's nothing you can do to help it and I wouldn't want you to get into trouble." Anne didn't mention her rape, as she was still too ashamed to speak of it.

"I understand," Sally said heavily, daring to place a caring hand on Anne's shoulder. "Nobody will hear anything from me." As a slave, she understood only too well how her own well being depended on her ability to be discreet.

"Thank you for your concern," Anne said. "I truly appreciate it." Squaring her shoulders and drying her eyes one last time, she said, "I just needed to cry it out. But I must not allow myself to wallow in my grief if I'm to get through this and eventually get home safe and sound. I simply don't have the luxury of doing that."

"Yes, Miss, that is certainly true," Sally agreed, having spent a lifetime adjusting to situations she could not change. "I'll be here, though, if you ever need someone to talk to."

"Thank you, Sally," she said, smiling warmly up at the older woman.

"I have to go now or they'll miss me in the kitchen," the other woman said apologetically. "Are you sure you'll be all right?"

"Positive," Anne assured her. "I think I'll have some supper now. The plate you brought smells delicious."

While Anne was getting settled in upstairs, Tavington had gone to the dining room, followed by Bordon and Wilkins. They found Colonel Banastre Tarleton, commander of the other dragoon unit quartered at the Sizemore estate, along with two of his officers, already halfway through their meals.

"Tavington, good to see you," Tarleton said. "Have a seat." He gestured to the empty chair beside him.

Tavington took the chair offered him, with his officers seating themselves on the other side of the table. "I didn't expect to see you back so soon, Ban," he said. "Must have been an easy victory for you."

"You could say that," the other officer drawled. "It's almost too easy at times."

"Quite," Tavington agreed. He knew only too well the truth of Tarleton's words.

"By the way, Will," Tarleton said with a sly grin. "Who was that girl with you when you first came in? Isn't she a little young for you?"

"She just happens to be the newly married daughter in law of Benjamin Martin," Tavington explained with a triumphant smirk.

"The Ghost?" the younger man asked, shaking his head in wonder at Tavington's audacity.

"The very same," Tavington affirmed, still smirking.

"And you're hoping he'll come out of hiding to try to rescue her?" Tarleton guessed.

"I'm counting on it," Tavington affirmed.

"I almost pity the poor man," Tarleton said. "Almost."

Both men laughed loudly at this absurd notion.

"What do you intend to do with the girl in the meantime?" Tarleton asked. "Or is that a stupid question?"

Tavington rolled his eyes. "What do you think, Ban?"

Tarleton responded with more snickering laughter.

"I'm sorry to cut this short, gentlemen, but the lady awaits." Tavington said a few moments later as he rose from his seat. "It seems as if I hunger for something other than food this evening." Looking down at Tarleton, he said in parting, "You know, it's an ugly business, doing one's duty. But just occasionally, it's a real pleasure."

And with that, he left the room with no further comment, followed by the braying laughter of his fellow officers.

A few moments later, Tavington found Anne finishing her dinner when he entered his quarters. He startled her as he opened the door, with her nearing dropping her plate on the floor.

Tavington chose to ignore Anne's nervousness. He was confident she would soon become accustomed to him and to her situation.

"Ah, I see you've eaten," he said as he removed his jacket, then threw it carelessly over a chair. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Yes," she said dully.

"Good." Tavington stood in front of the mirror as he unbraided his hair for the night. After removing his cravat and shirt, he picked up a hairbrush from the night table and brushed his long hair vigorously.

Anne forgot herself and her situation as she stared openly at Tavington, wearing nothing but his breeches and boots. She sighed loudly. Gazing upon his half nude male form, she could almost forget the black heart that resided within.

Tavington turned and looked at her with a smug expression, fully aware of the effect he had on her. Moving to sit on the edge of his bed, he unfastened his breeches, then reached down and pulled his boots off.

"Come over here," he said calmly, patting the bed.

The young woman reluctantly rose from the chair and slowly walked to the bed. Anne knew there was no point in resisting Tavington any longer. She knew that she needed to make the best of it until Gabriel found her and brought her home.

Anne sat down awkwardly beside Tavington, steeling herself for what was sure to follow.

Taking her hand, he said quietly, "It's time for bed, Anne," leaving unsaid the implication behind those words. He leaned over and took her into his arms. Anne sat stiffly in his embrace, neither resisting nor responding to him.

He took no notice of her discomfort, but unhooked her bodice, then unlaced her stays in a quick, efficient manner. When she was finally naked, Tavington stood and shrugged out of his unbuttoned breeches.

Anne inhaled sharply at the sight of Tavington's nakedness, thoroughly aroused in spite of herself. She looked away, feeling ashamed as she unsuccessfully tried to rid herself of her thoughts.

Tavington pulled the covers back as he climbed into bed, pulling Anne with him. She attempted to remain in a sitting position, but Tavington pulled her down to him, engulfing her in his arms.

At this point, she couldn't control her emotions any longer. First one, then two tears came, until she was sobbing quietly in his arms. She turned her face away from him, her heart aching.

To her surprise, Tavington just held her for a long time, tangling his fingers in her long, wavy hair. His other hand slowly rubbed her back until she relaxed, drowsiness quickly creeping up on her. As she lay half asleep in his arms, she felt him raining soft kisses on her neck, moving down to her breasts.

"I won't hurt you this time," he murmured a little while later, as he moved to enter her. He kept his promise, as he took her gently, quickly climaxing, worn out from the day's events. There would be chances for more vigorous sex in the future, but for tonight, he was satisfied with teaching her not to dread his touch.

Long after Tavington had rolled off her and drifted off to sleep, Anne remained awake, lying on her back as she stared at the ceiling. Though still in shock about how her world had been so suddenly turned upside down, she eventually fell into fitful slumber.

--  
A/N An abatis is a defensive obstacle made by laying felled trees on top of each other with branches, sometimes sharpened, facing the enemy, 1766, from Fr., lit. "things thrown down," from . abateis, from abattre "to beat down, throw down"

Next Chapter: A Fruitless Search


	4. A Fruitless Search

**Chapter Four -- A Fruitless Search**

"Gabriel! Wake up!" Ben Martin crouched down to shake his sleeping son.

"Wha-?" Gabriel Martin slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. After several sleepless hours on the hard ground, he'd finally fallen into a deep slumber

"It's morning," his father said in an urgent tone. "Time to start looking for Anne again."

Gabriel was up in an instant. The first rays of sunlight were evident as pulled his boots on.

"Here," his father said, handing him their canteens. "Go fill them up with water at the creek, while I get the horses ready."

A few minutes later, father and son were on their way.

"We're not going to be able to keep this up for very long," Ben Martin pointed out as their horses trotted along at a moderate pace. "I didn't bring much food. I didn't think it was going to take so long to find Anne."

"We can't just leave her with Tavington!" Gabriel exclaimed. "If he'd burn up families with children, there's no telling what he'd be willing to do to Anne."

"I know that, son," Ben said, frowning in concern. "But we'll have to turn back soon for supplies."

"How much longer can we look?" Gabriel asked. "The longer she's away from us, the less likely it is we'll get her back again."

"We'll have to turn back this afternoon," his father told him. "We'd have to go back for reinforcements in a few miles anyway, as we're heading into a heavily Loyalist area. It would be suicide for just the two of us to look for her there."

"I suppose you're right," Gabriel said miserably. "I just die a little bit more inside with every additional moment that she remains in Tavington's custody."

"I know I'm right," Ben said. "We won't do Anne any good if we get ourselves killed. Tavington probably hopes we'll do something foolish to try to get her back, so we must proceed carefully."

---

As Anne awakened early the next morning, she felt an arm around her waist. Forgetting where she was for a moment, she whispered softly, "Gabriel," and turned into his embrace. She was brought sharply back to reality as she gazed upon the face of the still sleeping Tavington. Asleep, his features calm and peaceful, he hardly looked capable of the brutality that had earned him the nickname, "The Butcher". Indeed, he looked almost angelic with his long dark hair spread across the pillow.

Tavington's eyes fluttered open as Anne looked at him. "Sorry to disappoint you, my dear," he drawled lazily, tightening his grip around her waist. "But it's no matter; you will soon forget that name."

Anne did not respond, knowing it would be pointless.

"I hate that I cannot tarry in bed with you all morning, as there is nothing I'd like better," he said as he raised himself to a sitting position, allowing the blanket to fall to his waist. "Unfortunately, I have business to attend to this morning."

"Would you like some breakfast?" Tavington asked her as he swung his legs out to sit by the side of the bed.

'Yes, that would be nice." Anne wasn't particularly hungry, as her worry had driven away her appetite, but she knew she needed to eat nonetheless. Refusing to eat wouldn't bring her parents back, nor would it help Gabriel to rescue her any more quickly.

"Get dressed, then, and I'll escort you downstairs and introduce you to the Sizemores," he decided. Tavington had already pulled his breeches on and was standing in front of the mirror fixing his hair. "Once you've eaten, one of the slaves will show you where you can wash," he continued. "I will also arrange for you to have a few more gowns and shifts."

Anne just looked at him, dismayed at the idea she'd be with Tavington long enough to need more clothes.

A short time later, they left his quarters. As they headed to the stairs, he said to her, "You are free to wander the house, and to go outside to the terrace and garden. You are not to go anywhere else without my permission and an escort." Stopping and gripping both her shoulders tightly to make her face him, he said, "Do you understand?"

"Y-yes," she said, afraid to move.

"Good," Tavington purred, releasing her. "I don't think I need to remind you that the consequences would be most unpleasant if you disobey my orders."

Anne shivered, knowing he meant every word.

A moment later, they entered the dining room. Mrs Sizemore was there, along with her teenage daughter, Emily. Mr Sizemore was not in evidence, having eaten breakfast earlier. Bordon and Wilkins had already arrived and were sitting at the other end of the table from the Sizemores.

"Mrs Sizemore," Tavington said smoothly, "This is Anne Martin." Turning to Anne, he said, "This is Mrs Lucretia Sizemore and her daughter, Emily."

"Pleased to meet you," Anne mumbled, not forgetting her manners.

"Do sit down, dear, and have some breakfast," Mrs Sizemore said briskly.

After Tavington had seated himself to Anne's right, he continued, "Mrs Martin will be staying with us for the foreseeable future."

"Shall I have a bedroom prepared for her?" the woman asked.

Tavington narrowed his eyes, pressing his lips together tightly. "No," he said sharply. "She will remain in my quarters."

"As you wish." Lucretia Sizemore did not approve of this arrangement, especially because she understood Anne to be a married woman, but it wasn't really any of her business. Nor did she want to go into any great detail in front of Emily.

"However, Mrs Martin needs some clothing," he continued. "I will pay for any clothing your seamstress makes for her."

"I will take care of it," Mrs Sizemore said. "Meanwhile, she can borrow a couple of Emily's gowns. They appear to be about the same size."

"Thank you," Tavington said. "That will do nicely."

At that moment, Ban Tarleton shambled into the dining room, looking half-asleep.

"Another late night, Ban?" Tavington asked, raising one eyebrow

Tarleton shrugged. "You know how it is, Will." Regarding Anne with a wide smile, he asked, "And who is this lovely young lady? I don't believe I've had the pleasure."

"This is Mrs Anne Martin," Tavington said. Leaning over, he murmured in Tarleton's ear, "Hands off, Ban. This one's mine."

Tarleton's only reply was a mute nod. Though attracted to Anne, he respected Tavington enough to honor his wishes. She wasn't worth fighting over; Tarleton knew plenty of women who welcomed his attention.

"Good morning, Mrs Martin," Bordon said quietly. "How are you this morning?" Bordon sat to Anne's left.

"As well as can be expected, I suppose, Captain Bordon," she said, looking up at him with gratitude. "How kind of you to ask."

"I'm here any time you need someone to talk to," he said with a slight smile, glancing to make sure Tavington hadn't heard him.

Tavington was oblivious to their conversation, as he was still exchanging gibes with Ban Tarleton.

"Thank you," she said softly, returning his smile. "I'll keep that in mind."

--

Shortly after lunch, Ben and Gabriel Martin reluctantly turned back to Pembroke, having seen no sign of Anne or the dragoons. They'd done all they could on their own, and it was time to get reinforcements and supplies. They urged the horses on, eager to resume their search as soon as possible.

As they neared Pembroke, they met one of their men, Billings, riding quickly toward them.

"What happened?" Ben Martin asked Billings, whose coat was torn and spattered with blood stains.

"Ambush," Billings briefly explained, out of breath. "I was riding out to find you to tell you."

"When?" Ben demanded.

"Very early this morning," he reported. "Davis was on watch, but they got him before he could wake us up."

"Damn!" Martin swore. "Someone must have seen Gabriel and I riding out of town."

"Tavington's men?" Gabriel asked Billings.

"No," the older man said. "Redcoat foot soldiers."

"Tavington probably had something to do with it," Gabriel insisted doggedly.

"Doesn't matter who," Billings pointed out. "We lost seven men, either way, and quite a few wounded." As they turned back toward Pembroke, he asked Gabriel, "What about your wife?"

"Tavington still has her," Gabriel said. "We never caught up with him. They had too much of a head start on us."

"I'm sorry," the other man said, not quite knowing what else to say.

"I'll get her back, if that's the last thing I ever do," the young man vowed.

---

Next Chapter: Shame and Humiliation


	5. Shame and Humiliation

**Chapter 5 Shame and Humiliation**

Several days later, Tavington was called to a staff meeting with Lord General Cornwallis at Fort Carolina, which was about five miles from the Sizemore estate. He would be gone until late that evening, so Anne would have several hours to herself for the first time since Tavington had abducted her.

As the days dragged on, Anne had been slowly losing hope that Gabriel would ever be able to rescue her. Her dreams of once again being held in his arms had faded, as Tavington's embraces replaced those of her husband. Tavington was an insatiable lover, imposing his desires on her several times each night, and once again this morning before he left for his meeting with Cornwallis.

Though she never forgot for a single moment that the man who held her was the infamous, aptly-nicknamed "Butcher", he'd worn her resistance down. She'd slowly begun to respond to him as he gave her lessons in the art of lovemaking. She couldn't understand how a man who was so bad could make her tremble so with passion.

And for this, Anne was supremely ashamed of herself. Even though she despised this man from the core of her being for what he'd done to her parents, her neighbors, and to Gabriel's brother, she was drawn to him sexually like a moth to a flame. She could not help but wonder what they'd all think of her now at home if they could see her with Tavington.

She was relieved as she stood on the porch of the Sizemore home and watched Tavington ride away with Captain Wilkins. The young woman needed a rest from the conflicting thoughts and confused feelings that Tavington generated in her. If she was lucky, Gabriel and the militia might come to rescue her while Tavington was away, but she knew that was wishful thinking, unlikely to happen.

"Ah, there you are." Lucretia Sizemore stood in the doorway, regarding her with a frown.. "The seamstress will be here shortly and I thought I'd have a word with you before she arrives." Indicating two chairs on the porch, she continued, "Let us sit here, so we can have a bit of privacy, shall we?"

"Of course," Anne said as she followed the older woman.

"I'll be frank with you," Mrs Sizemore said as soon as they'd seated themselves. "I would prefer if you would stay away from my daughter Emily, as I think you would be a bad influence on her."

"Bad influence?" Anne was baffled.

"You are living in sin with Colonel Tavington," the other woman pointed out. "I don't approve of such goings on, but I do understand I have to make certain concessions for the good of the war effort." Taking a deep breath, she continued, "We are a Christian family and I'll not have you influencing Emily with your shameless behavior.

"He abducted me!" Anne cried, stung by the uncaring attitude of the other woman.. "I have no choice in the matter if I ever want to see my husband again!"

"Be that as it may," Mrs Sizemore said with a dismissive wave of the hand, "I saw you out here late last night embracing Colonel Tavington, touching him in a most inappropriate manner, where anyone could have seen you. Please do not insult my intelligence by trying to tell me that he was forcing you to engage in that particular behavior. You were enjoying every moment of it."

Anne turned away, hanging her head in shame. She could not deny the truth.

After a long moment, she told Mrs Sizemore, "I'm making the best of the situation until I can go home. I cannot afford to antagonize Colonel Tavington by continuing to resist his demands. He would still get what he wanted in the end, and I'd likely get hurt in the process."

"I'll say you're making the best of it!" Lucretia Sizemore exclaimed, entirely unmoved by Anne's rationalizations. The older woman drew herself up with a haughty sniff. "Let me make one thing clear to you. If it were up to me, I'd have you moved to the tent encampment with the rest of the camp followers." Rising from the chair, she said in parting, "I trust that I can count on you to avoid Emily?"

The younger woman nodded silently, knowing it would be pointless to respond. She recognized that Lucretia Sizemore was a woman who could not be reasoned with once she'd made up her mind.

After Mrs Sizemore had swept imperiously back inside, Anne spent a long time out on the porch in quiet anguish, the tears rolling silently down her cheeks. She refused to cry out loud as she'd not give the old Tory harridan the satisfaction of seeing how much she'd upset her. The young woman knew she could not allow herself to wallow in self pity if she were to come out of this experience with her sanity intact.

---

William Tavington paced impatiently in the hall outside Lord Cornwallis' office. He'd been kept waiting for over an hour to see Cornwallis and was getting angrier by the second, knowing that the General was doing this quite purposely to make some sort of point. Tavington was sick and tired of Cornwallis' cavalier attitude toward him.

Finally, a few moments later, the aide informed him that Lord Cornwallis would now see him. Tavington had to bite his tongue to keep from making a sarcastic remark as he entered his superior's office. He frowned as he found the General in conversation with his primary simpering sycophant, General Charles O'Hara. Tavington despised O'Hara more than he did the rebels and, if given the right opportunity, would saber him to death without a second thought.

"Ah, Colonel Tavington," Cornwallis said, turning from the window to greet him. "This won't take long. I don't want to keep you from your duties."

The older man seated himself, with O'Hara doing likewise behind him, but he did not offer Tavington a chair. "I wanted to talk to you about what happened at Pembroke several days ago..."

"What of it?" Tavington snapped, his patience at the breaking point "The town was openly resisting the King by aiding Benjamin Martin's militia and I put a permanent end to it."

"I cannot condone such barbarism," Cornwallis said, his voiced raised a degree. "It is one thing to hang those in direct rebellion, to fire their homes and fields, and to take prisoners, but it is quite another to burn innocent women and children alive. Such uncivilized butchery is unworthy of a British soldier. It reflects badly on England and, more to the point, it reflects badly on me."

"You wanted me to get results, no matter what," Tavington reminded him, his tone testy. "I warned you that it would be sometimes necessary to employ some.....brutality....in order to have a lasting effect on the rebel cause." Curling his lip in contempt, his continued, "I am the one who will not be able to return to England with honour at the end of this war, just so that you don't have to get your hands dirty."

"You have no right to speak to the General in such an insubordinate fashion!" O'Hara exclaimed in indignation. "I simply won't have it!"

Tavington raised one eyebrow at the foppish officer, wondering yet again if O'Hara harboured an unnatural interest in the Lord General.

"That will be enough, Colonel Tavington!" Cornwallis thundered. He abhorred Tavington's bluntness, yet knew all the same that he needed him to handle all the unpleasant matters he'd really rather not soil his hands with. The Ghost had humiliated him in front of his men with that prisoner exchange hoax and Cornwallis would not rest until Benjamin Martin had been made to pay for that serious lapse in judgment. He sighed as he recognized that Tavington was a necessary evil he'd have to endure.

Tavington's face reddened in controlled fury, but he merely grated out, "Will that be all.....sir?"

"Yes, yes," Cornwallis said, waving his hand in exasperation. "But remember this, my patience has limits. I will only tolerate your extreme tactics just so long as you achieve the desired results. Not a moment longer." At this, he stood and turned back to the window, effectively dismissing Tavington.

---

Next Chapter: Discourse and Intercourse


	6. Discourse and Intercourse

**Chapter Six -- Discourse and Intercourse**

Later that afternoon, Anne sat alone on a bench in the estate's colourful flower garden. Mrs Sizemore's seamstress had measured her for three new gowns; two everyday gowns, and one formal gown in the latest fashion. She would also make several petticoats, three short gowns, two bed gowns, five shifts, and two caraco jackets, plus another set of stays and one set of jumps for undress wear.

During the fitting, while Anne was stripping down to her shift and stays, she'd overheard the woman asking Mrs Sizemore who she was. Though the women conversed in low tones attempting to keep Anne from hearing them, Mrs Sizemore's reply, "Colonel Tavington's whore", had made her ears burn in humiliation. The rest of the fitting had been uncomfortable and awkward for Anne and she'd been glad when it was finally over.

With all that had happened in the last few days, Anne hadn't allowed herself to think too much about her parents' deaths. But now, as she sat watching the late afternoon sun casting long shadows over the Sizemore's large flower garden, she burst into tears as the cold realization that she'd never see her parents again returned to haunt her thoughts. She prayed that their deaths had been swift, that they hadn't suffered long; anything else was too horrible to contemplate. As unwanted mental pictures filled her mind yet again, her sorrow overcame her vow to stoically bear her grief, as her tears turned into gulping sobs. Anne had never felt so alone in her life.

"Are you all right, Mrs Martin?"

Anne looked up to see Captain Bordon standing in front of her, his brow furrowed in concern. Wiping away her tears, she nodded. "I was just thinking about my p-parents..." she said, gulping again. "And my husband."

"I understand," he said, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "I'm so sorry about what happened."

"It's not your fault," she assured him, putting a gentle hand on his arm. "You were not in command, nor did you give the orders." Indicating the empty space on the bench next to her, she said, "Please join me."

After seating himself beside her and removing his bear fur crested helmet, Bordon told her earnestly, "I want you to understand that if there had been anything I could have done to prevent what happened, I would have done so."

"I know that, Captain," she assured him

"Please call me James," he said with an encouraging smile.

"James," Anne repeated. "And you must call me Anne."

"A beautiful name for a beautiful woman," he declared, gazing intently into her eyes.

"Tell me about yourself, James," she said. "Where are you from?"

"Halifax," he told her. "That's in Yorkshire." After a pause, he asked, "How about you? Have you always lived in this area?"

"Yes," she affirmed. "My parents met in Virginia, but came to South Carolina shortly after they were married. I'm an only child, born after they'd been married for fifteen years."

"I have three brothers and four sisters," he said with smile. "I cannot imagine growing up as an only child. Though I rather imagine I would have enjoyed the peace and quiet and not having to share my clothes!"

"Are you married?" Anne blushed slightly at her own nosiness.

"I was," he said, pressing his lips together tightly, then looking away from her for a moment. "My wife died in childbirth six years ago, along with our first child, a son."

"I'm so sorry," Anne said. "You must miss them very much."

"Every day of my life," he said heavily.

Anne took his hand, squeezing it gently. For a long moment they sat together in silence, gazing into one another's eyes. James Bordon's eyes were a lively shade of green, in contrast to the icy blue of Tavington's.

"Ah, there you are." Anne and Bordon turned to see Tavington quickly striding over to them.

Bordon stood up quickly, hoping that Tavington hadn't noticed Anne holding his hand.

Tavington, however, had eyes only for Anne. Reaching out, he quickly pulled her to her feet. He took her hand and began to lead her urgently to the house.

Anne looked over her shoulder helplessly at Bordon as Tavington led her away.

Bordon gave her a sympathetic look, silently mouthing, "I'll talk to you later."

Tavington did not say a word to Anne as he hurried her into the house and to their bedroom. On their way up the stairs, they encountered Mrs Sizemore, who frowned in disapproval as they passed. Anne blushed, but Tavington completely ignored the older woman.

As soon as the bedroom door had closed behind them, Tavington let go of her hand. He tossed his helmet onto a chair, followed by his jacket.

"I need a drink," he said as he moved to pour himself some wine from a crystal decanter that sat on a table near the bed. "Would you like any?"

"No, thank you," Anne said primly. She silently seated herself in a chair, well away from him, sensing his volatile, unpredictable mood.

He downed the wine in one gulp, setting the glass down with a loud clink. He turned to gaze out the window, looking over at the Dragoon encampment, which began a couple of hundred feet from the house. For several moments he stood silently brooding, almost forgetting that Anne was in the room.

"What's wrong?" she asked, unable to bear the silence any longer. She moved to stand behind him, following his gaze out the window.

Tavington did not answer, but abruptly turned and took Anne into his arms. His mouth descended to nip her neck as he pushed her back. As they both tumbled backwards onto the bed, his hands worked urgently to remove her clothing. She did likewise, her hands moving deftly to unbutton his breeches.

Soon, they were naked together under the covers. For a long interval, Tavington did nothing more than to hold Anne in his arms, kissing her softly, then with growing ardor. Anne caressed his back, reaching to loosen his hair. His lips began to trail down her neck, where he briefly paused to kiss and suckle each breast in turn. She sighed as diffuse sensations of pleasure began moving through her body. His lips moved inexorably downward, kissing her stomach, then her hips.

Anne was alarmed as she felt his lips move to her inner thighs. "What are you doing?" she said as she realized where he was going. He'd never done this before. She attempted to scoot away from his probing mouth, to no avail. "Please, you can't do this! It's indecent!"

Tavington roughly pried her legs apart to continue. "Lie still," he hissed. After Anne reluctantly obeyed him, he said in a gentler voice, "Trust me, you will enjoy this." Snorting in derision, he continued, "I take it that Martin never pleasured you in this manner. It is a good thing, then, that I am here to educate you." Without another word, he bent his head to continue what he'd started.

As Anne felt his warm breath between her legs, she stiffened as she prepared to endure this latest indignity. She felt him gently spread her apart with two fingers, then her hips twitched in surprise as a bolt of sudden pleasure emanated from her center as his tongue found its target. "Oh!" She hadn't expected this.

A low chuckle erupted from Tavington as he felt Anne jump. He continued with his ministrations, moving forward when he felt Anne's hand push his head further into her. Soon, Anne began to buck as his insistent tongue flicked relentlessly. Finally, she raised herself, pushing hard into Tavington's face. "William! William! Ohh, sweet William!" Sated, she flopped back bonelessly onto the bed. Tavington had succeeded in completely driving Gabriel from her mind, at least for the moment.

After a moment, she pulled Tavington up to recline upon her. "Please, Will," she begged. "Now!"

He immediately responded, entering her swiftly. As he began to thrust, he was mildly surprised when she began answering his every thrust with one of her own. Tavington forgot all about the humiliating meeting with Cornwallis as he realized that Anne was freely giving her whole self to him for the first time.

Later, Tavington sat up in bed with Anne's head on his chest. He was at peace for the first time in a long time. "Thank you," he said softly as he brought Anne's hand to his mouth to kiss.

"For what?"

"For helping me to forget about this damned war for a little while," he said.

"I wish I could forget," she said, looking up at him. Moving to sit up next to him, she continued, "You know that I can never forgive you for what you did in Pembroke."

He met her intense gaze head on. "I don't expect you to understand," he said slowly, reaching out to caress her face. "I did what I thought necessary to help end this war sooner rather than later and I will not apologize for my actions."

"I'll never understand," she said. Nevertheless, she allowed him to draw her back in to his arms.

"You do know that I will probably never be able to return to England after all this is over," he told her, as he gently rubbed her back. "I am the one who does Lord Cornwallis' dirty work for him, things he wants done but is too cowardly to accept responsibility for himself."

"Why do you do it?"

"It is my duty," he said simply. "But it would help if Cornwallis had some appreciation for what I've done for him. When the war is over, he will be able to go home a hero, his hands clean."

"I take it that your meeting with him didn't go well."

"You could say that," he said, with a harsh laugh. "He is just like my father was; nothing is ever good enough for him."

"Tell me about your father," Anne said.

"He gambled away our family fortune, then died of drink and left my mother and I with nothing," Tavington told her. "A wastrel -- that is the kindest thing I can say about him."

"I'm sorry," Anne said.

"Let's not talk about him any longer," Tavington said, as he eased Anne back down on the bed. "We have better things we could be doing."

---

Next Chapter: A Turning Point


	7. A Turning Point

**Chapter 7 -- A Turning Point**

Over the next several weeks, Anne slowly became accustomed to her new life at the Sizemore estate. She settled uneasily into her role as Tavington's mistress, always aware of the sinister undercurrent of menace in her lover.

Mrs Sizemore continued to treat her with chilly disdain, not speaking to her any more than was strictly necessary. Other than Emily, whom she was forbidden to converse with, there were no other women at the Sizemore home, other than the slaves. Sally was always kind when she attended to Anne's needs, but the busy woman had little time to spend in conversation with the lonely young woman.

Colonel Tarleton brought various women to the house from time to time, but none of them ever stayed more than a couple of days and never spent enough time outside of Tarleton's bedroom for her to interact with them. When sitting out on the porch or looking out the bedroom window, Anne often longingly watched women going about their daily chores in the tent encampment, but Tavington had forbidden her from venturing there.

Unbeknownst to Anne, her presence had been duly noted by the camp followers and she was currently a prime topic of gossip among the washerwomen and cooks. The camp whores had noticed that Colonel Tavington now rarely sought their company, which had led them to correctly deduce the reason for Anne's presence, wondering what was so special about her that she was too good to occupy a tent in the camp like the rest of them. They'd also noticed her walking with Captain Bordon a few times and there was much speculation about whether she was servicing both men.

Every few days, Tavington would lead the dragoons on raids and forays into the countryside, always on the lookout to confront and hopefully eliminate Benjamin Martin and his rebel militia. Tavington was surprised that the group had apparently abandoned conducting an aggressive search for Anne fairly early on, failing to take the bait he'd provided. The Martins' failure to respond as expected had only served to increase Tavington's determination to bring him down.

On the days that Tavington was away, Anne typically passed her time doing embroidery work or reading books from the Sizemore's extensive library; anything to keep her mind occupied. She was thankful that Mrs Sizemore hadn't seen fit to ban her from borrowing books.

It was during these times that she missed Gabriel and her family the most. She sometimes fantasized about how her life would have gone if the Green Dragoons had not come to Pembroke on that awful day. On the nights she slept alone, Anne would cry herself to sleep, her heart aching with loneliness.

Gradually, she found herself actually looking forward to Tavington's returns from battle, feeling relieved when he would come in during the middle of the night and slip into bed with her. Though he never spoke of the battles he'd participated in, she always sensed that their frequent couplings served as a way for him to forget about the war for awhile.

Between engagements with the enemy, the dragoons would sometimes spend several days in a row in camp. She and Tavington would usually rise late on such days, spending the mornings in bed sport. Tavington would spend the afternoons occupied with administrative matters, meetings at headquarters, drilling the troops, or planning the next raids. On many of these same afternoons, James Bordon frequently sought Anne's company and, as the weeks passed, their friendship was firmly cemented.

This routine went on, with rare variation, for a few months until it was hard for Anne to remember that she'd ever been married to Gabriel. Though Anne could never love William Tavington, she did feel a certain bond with him and, as time went on, felt she had some understanding of what motivated him. Likewise, she'd grown to cherish and depend on Captain Bordon's friendship, and often wondered to herself whether Gabriel would have had a chance with her had she met James first.

Early one cool morning, Anne felt queasy when she woke up alone and decided to remain in bed for awhile. The idea of breakfast revolted her. Tavington had been gone for several days and Anne was glad not to have to detail with his attentions for a few days. And, this morning, she certainly didn't care to deal with Mrs Sizemore's disapproving glare facing her across the breakfast table.

After awhile, a knock came at the door. Anne shrugged into her robe and padded over to the door to answer.

"Are you all right, miss?" Sally stood there, ready to change the linens on Anne's bed. "You're usually up early on the days that the colonel isn't here."

"I'm rather sick to my stomach," Anne reported. "My stomach has been bothering me for several days now." Stepping aside, she said, "But don't let me keep you from your work. I should get up now, anyway." As the older woman walked into the room, Anne's hands suddenly flew to her mouth and she ran to grab the chamber pot. Holding it close to her mouth, she threw up in great heaving waves.

Sally looked down at the young woman with understanding. "Miss, when was the last time you had your monthlies?"

"It's been a couple of months," she admitted as she wiped her mouth with a handkerchief."

The black woman looked at Anne closely. "I think I know what it is," she said. "You're with child."

"How could this happen?" Anne wailed. "I can't be with child!"

"You and the colonel spend a good deal of time in here," Sally reminded her, raising an eyebrow at the young woman's naïve attitude. "I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner."

"Are you sure about this?" Anne sat down weakly.

"Pretty sure, but time will tell," the other woman replied. "I felt pretty much like this when I had my first baby."

"Please keep this to yourself for now," Anne told her. "I want to tell the colonel myself."

"Of course, miss," she said. "I'm sure he'll be delighted to find out he's to become a father."

Anne wasn't quite so sure about that, but she kept her thoughts to herself.

After Sally had changed the bed and left, Anne stood to gaze at her reflection in the mirror. She put her hands on her stomach, but could not yet feel much difference. Yet, Sally's words had the ring of truth to her. Anne had no doubt that she was indeed pregnant. And she knew that the baby was Tavington's; she'd been with him too long for there being any chance of her carrying Gabriel's child. Moving to the window, she opened the draperies to look out at the activity outside.

Tears came to her eyes as she digested the reality of her situation. What should have been the happiest day of her life was bittersweet. Anne knew that she could never return to Gabriel now; he'd never forgive her for this. And she had no idea how Tavington would react to the news. Nevertheless she wanted this baby more than anything.

The tears began in earnest when she imagined the things she and her mother would have done together to prepare for the baby; And she imagined her father spoiling his first grandchild shamelessly. Anne missed them more than ever at this moment.

--

Next chapter: Telling Tavington


	8. Telling Tavington

Three days later, Tavington returned with his men. Anne was sitting alone on the front porch with a book as their horses came in through the gate. She was relieved to see that Tavington was apparently in a good mood, as she observed him and Bordon talking animatedly after they'd dismounted and were headed to the house.

"Were you waiting for me?" Tavington was pleased to see Anne on the porch as they reached the house.

Anne didn't answer, but gave him an uncertain smile. She still hadn't decided how she was going to break the news of his impending fatherhood. As Tavington and Bordon stepped onto the porch to join her, she was suddenly overcome with a wave of nausea. Pointing to the back yard, where the privy stood, she told them, "I'll be right back!". Without waiting for a response, Anne hurried away, hoping that she'd get to the privy before she threw up in front of them.

She barely made it; the vomit came as soon as she'd slammed the outhouse door shut. Anne hadn't had much for lunch that day, so there wasn't much to bring up. After she was finished, she lingered for a few minutes to collect herself, so that Tavington wouldn't see her red face.

".....going to do about it?" Two dragoons were passing by behind the privy. Anne decided to stay where she was until they were gone.

"I don't know," the second dragoon said. "I don't think it was fair of Tavington to make Sarah leave, now that she's with child."

"He's a cold bastard, that's for sure," the first Dragoon replied. "I'm not sure if he even has a heart."

Anne couldn't hear any more of what the men were saying, as they'd walked on, out of her earshot. But she'd heard enough. She sat down weakly as she considered the import of the men's words. It seemed obvious to her that William had ejected one of the camp followers for getting pregnant. She couldn't tell him about her pregnancy now.

After a few more minutes, she finally left the outhouse and headed back to the porch, where she found Bordon standing alone waiting for her, leaning against the porch rail.

"I was about to give up on you," Bordon said as she stepped back onto the porch. "Colonel Tavington sends his regrets, but Colonel Tarleton needed to confer with him. He asked that you wait here for him and that he would return shortly."

"Will you stay here with me until he comes back?" Anne smiled shyly.

"I'd be delighted." He returned her smile.

"We've not had much of a chance to talk lately," she observed. "I've missed you."

"The rebels have certainly kept us busier than normal lately," he replied. "But I think of you often while out on patrol."

The two chatted amiably for a few minutes before Anne was beset with another bout of nausea. She jumped up and said, "Please excuse me for a moment," as she ran back toward the privy yet again. This time, she wasn't quick enough and threw up before she'd gotten more than a dozen yards from the porch.

When she returned to the porch, Bordon was looking at her with concern and sudden understanding. "Are you all right?" he asked. "How long has this been going on?"

"About a week," she admitted quietly, feeling supremely ashamed.

"You know," he said as he looked away, his face crimson, "My wife had this same problem shortly after she discovered she was with child."

"How did you know?" Anne whispered, dismayed that Bordon had guessed her condition so quickly.

"I didn't know for sure," he said. "I just remembered what my wife had gone through." Turning to face her, he asked, "Have you told Colonel Tavington yet?"

"No," she replied. "I'm kind of afraid to tell him."

"I don't think you should be," Bordon told her. "And he does deserve to know he's to become a father."

"I overheard some soldiers talking and they said that William made one of the camp followers leave because she is with child," Anne told him.

"That doesn't sound right," Bordon said. frowning in confusion. "There have been a few other camp followers who ended up with child and Colonel Tavington did not interfere with them."

"All I know is what I overheard," she insisted

"Did they say which woman it was?" he asked.

"They mentioned a woman named Sarah," she replied.

"Oh, I know what happened now!" Bordon said. "Sarah Bradley has been with us for quite some time and she's been a troublemaker from the first day. Several soldiers had been fighting over her and Colonel Tavington will not put up with such a lack of discipline. We are to work together as a single unit and anything that threatens this must be eliminated."

After a pause, he added, "And I've heard that she's had fights with several of the other women as well. Colonel Tavington had no doubt had enough of this woman disrupting our group and decided to put an end to it."

"Are you sure?" Anne looked at him with a cautiously hopeful expression.

"I'm positive," Bordon assured her with a broad smile.

"I'm glad to know that," Anne said. "But I'm still not looking forward to telling him."

"The sooner you get it over with, the better," Bordon advised her. "He'll have time to adjust to the idea before the baby is born." Pointing in the direction of the dragoon encampment, he continued, "Here he comes now."

"Wish me luck," she said, still feeling apprehensive.

"You'll be fine," he said, giving her a slight smile.

As Tavington joined them, Bordon said, "If you will excuse me, I've got some things I need to do."

"Of course, Bordon," Tavington said. "Thank you for keeping Mrs Martin company for me."

After Bordon had left, Tavington turned to Anne, "Would you care to take a walk?"

"Yes," she said. "I'd like that."

Anne did not say anything as they walked toward the Sizemore's flower garden. Her heart was beating madly and her knees almost knocking together as she tried to summon the courage to tell him her news.

"What is it, Anne?" Tavington asked. "You usually aren't this quiet. What is bothering you?"

"Let's sit down," she said as they came upon a bench at the far end of the garden. Once they'd seated themselves, she continued, "I've got something to tell you."

"Yes?" Tavington wished she'd just get on with it.

"I don't quite know how to tell you this...."

Tavington interrupted her with a sigh of exasperation.

"I'm with child!" she blurted out.

"Oh," Tavington said with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." He sighed loudly again. "We haven't exactly been anything approaching chaste," he said dryly.

Anne turned away from him, almost sick with dismay. "I was hoping you would have been happier about this."

"You have to give me time to get used to it," he said. "I've never considered fatherhood before. I'm not sure that I like it."

"Well, I'm going to have this baby, whether you like it or not," Anne snapped in a rare show of temper.

Tavington chuckled heartily, "Ah, you've got some spirit after all. I was beginning to wonder." Serious once again, he said, "Don't worry, Anne. Our child will be taken care of."

Anne gave him a hesitant smile, hoping he was sincere.

-=

Next chapter: To Harass and Confound the Enemy


	9. To Harass and Confound the Enemy

A few months later, Anne accompanied Tavington, Bordon, and Wilkins, along with a group of dragoons, to Cornwallis' headquarters for the Christmas holidays. Cornwallis was to host a large Christmas party for all British officers in the area and they would be staying there for several days. She hadn't left the Sizemore estate since Tavington had abducted her and was looking forward to seeing something different.

Because of Anne's advanced state of pregnancy, the Sizemore's slave, Sally, who was a midwife, was brought with them to act as maidservant and to be available in the unlikely chance that she went into premature labour. Anne was glad to have her along, because she'd been the only woman she'd had to talk to since arriving at the Sizemores. Tavington still would not allow her to associate with the camp followers and the Sizemore women considered her to be beneath them.

Shortly after they arrived at the fort, Tavington was called into a staff meeting with Cornwallis and several other officers. Anne was worn out from the journey from the estate, so she retired immediately. The room Tavington had been assigned to was much smaller than what they had at the Sizemore mansion, but Anne didn't care. She was tired enough that she could have fallen asleep on a wooden bench.

Anne awakened several hours later when she felt Tavington ease into bed with her.

"Mmm, it shouldn't be too much longer now," he said as he wrapped his arms around her, his hands on her belly. He nestled closer to her, becoming instantly aroused as he did so. The weather had turned bitterly cold after the sun had gone down and he couldn't think of a better way to warm up than to lose himself in the heat of Anne's body.

She sighed as she felt him lift her nightgown. Normally she enjoyed their bed sport, but as the time drew closer for their child's birth, lovemaking had become awkward and tiring for her. "Can you please be quick about it? I'm not feeling all that well."

"You can lie still," he hissed, entering her from behind as they laid together in spoon fashion. "I will do the work." Tavington was irritated with her recent lack of passion and took her more roughly than he had originally intended

Tears silently rolled down her face as Tavington took his pleasure from her. Though he'd gradually come to be generally gentle and considerate with her in the months they'd been together, there were occasional hints of the brutality Anne knew Tavington was quite capable of.

To her relief, he finished fairly quickly and fell almost immediately asleep, still inside her. She followed suit a few minutes later, still exhausted from the day's events.

The next afternoon Anne and Tavington joined Bordon and several others in front of the fireplace in the common room after the noon meal. Anne enjoyed the rare times when they joined these informal gatherings, as she was usually rather lonesome for conversation. Today was a special treat because quite a few of the men had their wives, girlfriends, or mistresses with them. The mood was festive, with gifts being exchanged all around.

Anne enjoyed watching the pleased expressions on the faces of others as they opened their gifts. She was surprised when Tavington set a large box in front of her. She opened it eagerly to find an elegant full length velvet cape, hunter green with black trim.

"Oh, it's beautiful," Anne said. "Thank you!"

"You are quite welcome," Tavington replied. "I knew you would like it."

"Colonel Tavington?" Captain Wilkins stood in the doorway hesitantly. "Might I have a word with you?"

Tavington looked up in irritation at Wilkins. "Make it brief," he said. Turning to the group, he said, "Please excuse me for a few minutes."

Once he and Wilkins were out in the hall, he said, "What is it?"

"I thought you might like to know that several of Benjamin Martin's men were captured and just brought here," Wilkins told him. "They're in the holding pen now."

"That _is_ good news," Tavington said. "Did they get Martin himself?"

"No, unfortunately," Wilkins said. "But Gabriel Martin is one of the prisoners."

"Very interesting," Tavington said, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "I think I'll go pay Mr Martin a visit."

After telling Anne that he had some unexpected business to attend to and that he would return soon, he hurried over to the prisoner holding area. Several men were milling about inside the enclosure as Tavington approached. He spotted Gabriel Martin leaning against a tree near the enclosure's gate.

Martin noticed him at almost the same time.

"Tavington!" Martin called out. "What have you done with my wife?"

"Your wife?" he said, one eyebrow raised in feigned ignorance."

"Don't pretend you don't know who I mean," Gabriel insisted. "You were seen leaving Pembroke with her on your horse.

"Ah, Pembroke," the other man said. "Was that woman your wife?"

Gabriel's heart sunk when he heard Tavington refer to Anne in the past tense. Almost desperately, he begged, "Please, can't you at least tell me where you buried her so I can put up a headstone?"

"Don't carry on so," Tavington said harshly. "You won't get anywhere with me acting like that." Turning away from Martin, he addressed the entire group, "Anyone who can give me reliable information as to the whereabouts of Benjamin Martin will be released."

"You really expect us to tell you that?" a rawboned man named Sykes sneered. "My wife and daughter were in that church you burned in Pembroke." Moving to stand in front of Tavington, he said, "Go to hell, you miserable son of a bitch," then spat a wad of chewing tobacco through the bars into his face.

Without a moment's hesitation, Tavington drew his pistol and shot him point blank in the head. Sykes crumpled, dead before he hit the ground. "Who's next?" Tavington demanded as he deftly wiped the mess off his face with his handkerchief.

The other men turned away, not wanting to get involved.

"I can see I'm wasting my time here," Tavington said, turning to walk away. "So be it."

As Gabriel Martin kneeled before the slumped form of Jonas Sykes and watched the haughty British officer stride away, he lost all hope that Anne might still be alive.

Tavington rejoined Anne a few minutes later. After a short interval, he turned to her and casually asked, "Would you like to take a walk? It's getting a little stuffy in here."

"Yes, I could use the air," she agreed gratefully. "I think I'll wear my new cape."

As they walked along the fort's perimeter, Tavington took her hand. Anne looked sideways at him, as they rarely held hands, but did not pull away. The afternoon had been so pleasant and she did not want to break the spell.

Within a few minutes, they approached the prisoner holding area. Anne stopped dead in her tracks as she began to recognize some of the men inside the enclosure.

"Oh, my God!" Her hands flew up to her mouth as she spied Gabriel among the group. She turned back to Tavington with a questioning look.

"Merry Christmas, my dear," he said softly. "Go ahead, I brought you out here so you could have a visit with him."

After giving him a grateful look, Anne half walked, half ran to the pen. Tavington followed her at a leisurely pace.

"Gabriel!" Anne stood at the bars, her hands reaching through to her husband.

Gabriel Martin's head jerked up, not quite able to believe what he saw. He rushed over to Anne, grabbing her hands and holding on as if for dear life. "I thought you were dead!" he said, tears coming into his eyes. Kissing her hands urgently, "I never thought I'd see you again!"

"Nor I you." Anne was crying freely now. "I waited so long for you to rescue me, but you never came."

"We searched for you," Gabriel said simply. "Everywhere I've been, I've looked for you."

"I've missed you so much," she said as she reached to touch his face though the bars. "Thoughts of you have kept me going all these months."

Gabriel looked beyond Anne to see Tavington standing, his arms folded, a short distance away. "Has he hurt you?" Gabriel demanded.

Anne looked away, her face reddening. "I don't want to talk about it," she whispered. "I don't want to talk about him."

"That's all for today." Tavington had walked up to stand behind Anne. Bending down to kiss the side of her neck, he said, "Time to go, my sweet. You can see him again tomorrow."

"You bastard!" Gabriel thundered. "Take your hands off my wife!"

"It's a bit late for you to be telling me that, don't you think?" Tavington drawled, smirking as he drew Anne's cloak away from her body to reveal her advanced state of pregnancy. Placing his hands on her stomach possessively, he continued, "Kind of like closing the barn door after the horse has run away, hmm?"

"Before this war is over, I'm going to kill you, " Gabriel vowed. "If it's the last thing I do."

Bringing his face close to the bars, Tavington said softly, "Why wait?" With a harsh laugh, he grabbed Anne's hand and led her away. Looking over his shoulder, he said in parting, "Oh. By the way, Martin, Merry Christmas."

As soon as they were out of sight of the prisoner enclosure, Anne broke away from Tavington, whirling around to face him.

"How could you humiliate me like that in front of my husband and those men?" she demanded, her eyes narrowed in anger.

Tavington gripped Anne's shoulders, looking at her intently. "Part of my job is to harass and confound the enemy by any means possible," he told her. "And that is precisely what I intend to do at every given opportunity."

"I thought you had grown to care for me," Anne said in a small voice. "Especially now that I am carrying your child."

"All is fair in love and war," he said dismissively. "The sooner you learn that, the better off you will be, my dear." Taking her hand again, he led her back in the direction of their quarters. "It's nearly time for you to get ready for the party. Let us have no more talk of this for now."

Anne did not reply. After seeing Gabriel, she had no desire to go to the party, but she knew it would be useless to object.

--  
Next Chapter: A Betrayal and An Admission


	10. A Betrayal and An Admission

**Chapter 10 -- A Betrayal and An Admission**

Three hours later, Tavington and Anne left their quarters for the party. She wore a green velvet gown that matched her new cape, her stays loosely laced to accommodate her pregnancy. As they entered the ballroom, Anne was overwhelmed by the number of people in attendance. Officers from many different British units were attired in formal dress uniforms, some accompanied by elegantly dressed women of all ages.

Beset by a sudden attack of vertigo, Anne murmured, "I think I'll go sit down for awhile. It's awfully warm in here."

"All right," Tavington said. "I'll go get you something to drink." After getting Anne settled in a comfortable chair on the enclosed terrace, he set off in search of the refreshment table.

Looking around as he returned to the ballroom, he located it on the opposite end from where he'd left Anne. As he sidled up to the table, he found Bordon standing there by himself.

"Why don't you find a pretty young woman and dance?" Tavington suggested to his second in command, indicating several couples on the dance floor. "You certainly aren't going to have any fun here by yourself." He poured two glasses of wine from a bottle on the table as he spoke.

"I'm fine, sir," Bordon insisted. "I'd much rather watch."

"Suit yourself," Tavington replied, shrugging, thinking that Bordon was a pious bore. As he turned from the refreshment table, his eyes came to rest on a tall, buxom woman with raven hair who had just entered the ballroom alone. He froze, unable to take his eyes from her. As he continued to stare at her with frank desire, her eyes suddenly met his. An enigmatic hint of a smile appeared on her face.

"Good Lord!" Tavington exclaimed under his breath. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen a woman so enchanting. Making a half turn, he pushed the drinks into Bordon's hands. "Go find Mrs Martin and keep her company. Make up some sort of an excuse and tell her I will see her later." Not waiting for Bordon to respond, he quickly strode across the room in pursuit of the raven haired woman.

Bordon sighed loudly as he watched Tavington introduce himself to the woman, who appeared to be fairly close to Tavington's age. Disgusted, but not surprised by his commander's behaviour, he turned away to go find Anne Martin.

A few moments later, he found her sitting alone near a window, gazing out at the night sky. She looked up as she sensed Bordon's presence.

"May I join you?" he asked. "Colonel Tavington sends his regrets, but he was unfortunately called away to attend to some business. He asked me to tell you that he would see you later." Bordon got an uncomfortable lump in his throat at having to lie so blatantly to Anne. She deserved better.

"Please do," she said with a genuine smile. "But I'm not feeling all that well, so I'm afraid I won't be a very lively companion for you." Gazing down at herself, she continued, "And I'm afraid I wouldn't make a graceful dancing partner in my condition, either."

"I can't think of anyone's company I'd enjoy more tonight," Bordon told her. "And I'm not a very good dancer in _any_ condition."

Anne giggled softly. "I'm sure you're a fine dancer."

"No, really, I've got two left feet," he insisted. "Women run from me on the dance floor, afraid I'll step on their toes."

Anne laughed again, beginning to enjoy herself, in spite of it all.

"You looked so deep in thought when I first walked up," Bordon said a few minutes later. "If it's not too presumptuous of me to ask, what were you thinking of?"

"My husband, Gabriel," she told him. "I don't know if you are aware of this, but he's being held prisoner at the fort right now."

"No, I didn't know," he told her. "How did you find out?"

"William took me out there to see him," she reported.

Bordon raised an eyebrow at this, knowing instinctively that Tavington had not permitted this visit out of the goodness of his heart. He remained silent, however, waiting for her to continue.

"At first, I couldn't figure out why he let me see Gabriel," she said. "For the briefest of moments, I actually thought he was going to finally let me go and return to him." Sighing loudly, she continued, "But after he humiliated me in front of Gabriel and the other men, I knew that was a silly notion."

"What did he do?" Bordon asked.

"He called attention to my...condition," she said, blushing deeply. "He pulled my cape to the side and put his hands on my stomach." Looking away, she said, "He flaunted the fact that he'd cuckolded Gabriel."

"Bastard," Bordon exclaimed in a low voice.

"I was so embarrassed," she said. "And the look on Gabriel's face when he did this broke my heart."

"I'm so sorry," he said, patting her hand.

Anne sighed again. "Why don't we talk about something more cheerful for awhile," she said. "After all, it is nearly Christmas."

And, so, for the next hour or so, the two engaged in animated conversation, each telling stories of happy Christmases past. Eventually, however, Anne began looking up expectantly every so often as the time dragged by and Tavington did not appear.

"I wonder what's keeping him?" she wondered out loud.

"I couldn't say," Bordon said in a bland tone.

"I'm afraid I can't wait for him much longer," she decided. "I'm exhausted and I truly need to get some rest."

"I can escort you back to your quarters, if you like," he said. "And I will inform the colonel that you've retired when he returns."

"I'd appreciate that," she said, squeezing his hand in gratitude..

A few moments later, they arrived at the door of the quarters Anne shared with Tavington. She turned to Bordon, taking both his hands in hers. "I want to thank you for staying with me tonight," she said. "You are such a gentleman."

"I enjoyed being with you," he said simply. "I was lucky to get to share this evening with you."

"Well, I'll say goodnight now," she told him as she moved to open the door.

As soon as the door was ajar, Anne froze in the doorway, unable to speak.

"What is it?" Bordon was puzzled.

Still speechless, Anne merely pointed at the bed, where Tavington was intently making love to the raven haired woman Bordon had seen earlier at the party. The woman's head was thrown back in ecstasy, her legs wrapped tightly around Tavington's waist, with their long ebony locks intertwined on the pillow.

Close to the height of their shared passion, neither Tavington nor the woman took any notice of Anne or Bordon in the doorway. The room was filled with the lusty sounds of their sighing and moaning as they worked toward their inevitable climax.

Seeing the devastated expression on Anne's face, Bordon pulled her back into the hall, firmly shutting the door behind them.

He took her into his arms as she began to cry softly. "Come on, now," he said, as he gently stroked her hair. "We can't stay here in the hall. Come along with me."

Anne followed Bordon numbly. A few moments later, they stood in front of the door to his room.

"You can stay here tonight," he told her. "No one needs to know what happened."

After closing the door behind them, Bordon led her to a small couch, where Anne sank down gratefully.

"I'm so sorry to put you out like this," Anne said, after he'd sat down beside her. "I'm keeping you from the party."

"It isn't any trouble at all," he assured her. "I couldn't just leave you to sleep out in the hall now, could I?"

"I don't know why you've been so good to me," she said, taking his hand.

"Oh, I would think you should know why by now," he said quietly. Clearing his throat, he declared, "I love you, Anne. I think I've loved you since I first saw you."

Anne looked up in surprise. She'd had no idea. But as she gazed at him, it was now obvious to her. "James..."

Bordon took her into his arms and kissed her gently. For a long moment they did not speak, but just held one another.

"You don't know how much it has driven me crazy these last few months to have to stand by while Tavington took advantage of you," he told her.

"Why didn't you speak up sooner?"

"You're a married woman," he said. "I knew my feelings for you were hopeless; that your heart belongs to another."

"Oh, you're such a good, decent man," Anne told him. "It is such a shame that we did not meet years ago."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" He did not dare hope.

"Shh. Let's not talk," she said. "Just hold me."

Bordon continued to hold her, gently rubbing her back. At this moment he was fighting his urge to storm back over to Tavington's quarters to challenge the bastard to a duel, but he resisted that inclination, knowing it wouldn't do anything to help Anne.

A few minutes later, he felt the tension leaving her body, as she snuggled closer to him. Nothing felt quite so right to him as holding Anne in his arms and he wanted the moment to last forever.

But, of course, it could not. Eventually the couple pulled back slightly to regard one another with a new perspective.

Anne saw love and concern as she gazed into James' sea green eyes, along with a healthy dose of lust. How could she have been so blind as to not have seen it before? Smiling shyly, she leaned forward and placed a hesitant kiss on his lips.

Needing no further encouragement, Bordon deepened the kiss, pulling Anne closer to him again. Feeling her arms going around him, he whispered, "Oh, Anne, I want you so much."

"As I do you," she replied, blushing. Not sparing a thought for either Gabriel or William Tavington, she murmured, "Make love to me, James!"

He did not reply in words, but rather in actions. Claiming her lips again, his hands reached up to unhook her bodice. Moving his head down, he took one hardened nipple into his mouth as she reached around to release his ginger-red hair from its tight queue.

Anne moaned as his lips and hands continued to move over her skin. Eager to be joined with him, she urgently fumbled with his breeches, wanting to get them off him as quickly as possible.

"Let me," he said quietly, seeing that she was having little success unfastening them, his erection no doubt increasing their tightness. Having much past experience in removing his breeches when fully engorged, he was able to loosen them sufficiently to release his painfully hard member.

Once this was done, Anne boldly reached to stroke him, then bent to take him in her mouth. Bordon knew that he shouldn't be surprised, considering that she'd spent the last several months servicing Tavington; he had to have expected this particular act from her.

He almost began to hum with pleasure as she continued her ministrations; Tavington had certainly taught her well. But after a few moments of this, he had to stop her as he didn't wish to spend himself in her mouth.

Reaching to pull up her gown, he was stymied by her heavily pregnant belly. His late wife had been ill in the latter months of her pregnancy, so they'd not engaged in relations and he'd never been with another woman this late in pregnancy.

"I don't want to hurt you," he murmured when she noted his hesitation.

"You won't," she assured him. "It just takes a bit of creative positioning."

He thought for a moment, then picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. After placing her gently across the bed, he paused only to remove his boots and breeches. Impatient to get on with it, he didn't bother to completely undress.

Anne looked up in eager anticipation as he moved to stand on the side of the bed.

Leaning over to give her a quick kiss, he deftly pulled her gown up to her waist, then told her, "I know you're tired, so lie still and let me do the work."

Kissing his way down her body, he took both feet and pulled her closer to him, placing them on his shoulders.

Moving forward, he entered her easily, finding her sufficiently aroused to do so.

After he'd buried himself to the hilt, Anne reached to take his hands to help him keep his balance as he began to thrust hesitantly, then with more vigour, This was a position that Tavington greatly favoured, especially since she'd become great with child.

Bordon never took his eyes off Anne, who returned his gaze, as he continued to give her pleasure, eliciting soft moans, which spurred him on even more.

All too soon, however, he felt his climax quickly approaching, but didn't hold back. Knowing how tired Anne was, he let it happen, coming with a satisfied grunt.

After pausing briefly to clean himself off, then giving her a cloth to do likewise, he slipped into bed beside her, still half dressed.

"I love you James," Anne murmured sleepily, as they spooned together, his arms around her

"I love you more," he replied in a low voice, as he brushed her hair back to kiss her on the cheek.

No more words were spoken as they enjoyed the simple pleasure of lying in one another's arms, drifting contentedly off to sleep a few minutes later.

--  
Next Chapter: Sent Home


	11. Sent Home

**Chapter 11 -- Sent Home**

Late the next morning, James Bordon awakened when bright rays of sunlight shone through the window into his eyes. He gazed lazily down at Anne, whose head rested on his chest, eyes still closed in sleep.

As he regarded her with loving eyes, his hands came in contact with her pregnant belly. No sooner had he touched her than the baby within chose to kick. He frowned to himself, immediately reminded of the fact that Tavington stood between him and Anne, and always would because of the baby she now carried. This simple truth had not crossed his mind once when he and Anne made love the night before, but now, the harsh light of day caused him to confront some rather sobering realities about his feelings for Anne.

His eyes wandered further and fell upon the simple gold band that Anne wore, which, no doubt, was her wedding ring from Gabriel Martin. Tavington had given her more elaborate rings out of the plunder they brought in, which she wore from time to time, but the simple gold ring was a constant, a testament to the feelings she still had for the man she married.

All at once he was overcome with a overwhelming sense of guilt for having taken advantage of Anne's vulnerable position to press his own suit. Anne had come to him for comfort and he'd made use of the confused young woman to satisfy his own lust. He belatedly realized that even if she truly loved him, her interests were truly conflicted, and last night was neither the proper time nor place for him to declare his love, let alone consummate it.

Despite the fact that Tavington had betrayed her in a particularly cruel manner, he knew that Anne's feelings toward the man were decidedly mixed. Indeed, if she'd cared nothing for him, the sight of him in the throes of passion with another woman would not have hurt her so deeply.

Though Bordon regarded his commander as nothing better than an amoral libertine, he knew that Tavington had an uncanny knack of drawing women to him like a moth to a flame, making them almost blind to his moral faults.

And, of course, there was the matter of Anne carrying Tavington's by-blow. If she was anything like most women, she could not help but carry a bit of tender feeling, however small, for the father of her child. Bordon remembered Anne's behaviour at the ball the night before, that even in the midst of their lively conversation, she kept looking for Tavington to appear. He mentally chastised himself for being so blind as not to have realized what that meant.

Bordon sighed to himself, knowing that he had to pull back from the situation and give Anne the space to work out her conflicting loyalties and to decide what she really wanted. As much as he hated to do it, he had to let her go, knowing she'd not be able to properly work through her feelings until after the baby was born.

Several minutes later, as he continued to lie there brooding next to Anne, her eyelids finally fluttered open.

"Good morning," he said, giving her a quick kiss. "Did you sleep well?"

"Not all that well, I'm afraid" she admitted, giving him a tentative smile. "I couldn't keep thoughts of what happened yesterday with William and Gabriel out of my mind, no matter how I tried."

It was exactly as he'd feared.

After stretching the kinks out of his back, Bordon rose from the bed and went over to the window facing away from Anne, still clad in only his shirt and dragoon jacket. Looking out, he said, "I think we've missed breakfast; it must be nearly ten o'clock." Surveying the courtyard, he saw Tavington heading in the direction of Cornwallis' office. Noting that Anne had moved to stand by him, he said, "He's alone. It should be safe for you to return to your room now."

Anne frowned at the sight of her lover, completely disgusted with him. "Well, at least I can go back and change my clothes," she said.

"I think I'll go have a word with him while you do that," Bordon said, turning to find his breeches and boots.

Noting his morose silence as he quickly dressed, she asked, "What's wrong, James? You seem as if something is troubling you."

Turning slowly to face her with a stricken expression, he quietly said, "I do love you, more than you will ever know, but what happened between us last night was a mistake. I should have never taken advantage of you in your vulnerable condition." Glancing away from her, he harshly muttered, "You came to me looking for comfort and what did I do? I used you to slake my own lusts, never thinking of the fact that you carry the child of another man and are married to still yet another. I simply added to your burden, instead of relieving it."

Moving to take her hands in his, he said, "I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for my behaviour."

Looking up into his earnest, troubled face, she said, "There's nothing to forgive, James. I asked you to make love to me and, believe me, it was very much of a comfort to me."

"Was that all it was -- comfort?" he demanded. "Any port in a storm, then?"

"You mustn't say that, James," she cried, squeezing his hands. "I do care for you, but as you said, I don't quite know what to do now. Gabriel is a prisoner and I don't know what's going to happen to him. I'm about to give birth to William's child and I have no real idea what he plans to do with me and the baby once it's born. And then last night, you confess that you love me! I've never been so confused in all my life.

"I'll take you back to your room now," he said quietly. "There is still that matter of me having a word with Colonel Tavington."

"Please don't say anything you may later regret," she pleaded. "This isn't worth losing your career over."

"On the contrary," he said. "You would be well worth it."

Anne blushed, looking away from him, more confused than ever.

After parting with Anne at the door to Tavington's quarters, Bordon hurried outside in search of his commanding officer. He found him returning from Cornwallis' office, striding angrily back across the compound.

"Bordon!" Tavington called out. "There you are! Where have you been?" Not waiting for a reply, he plunged on, "I cannot believe how stupid Cornwallis is! You simply will not believe what he's done now!"

Knowing that Tavington was wound up, Bordon remained silent, waiting for his commanding officer to continue.

"Ban Tarleton does me the favour of capturing several of Benjamin Martin's men, including his son, and what does that pompous ass Cornwallis do? He turns the entire lot of them loose! And before we can conduct any intensive interrogations!" Stabbing the air with his index finger for emphasis, Tavington continued, "When I went to ask him why he'd done this, he told me it was a Christmas amnesty gesture." Tavington spat scornfully at this notion. "We'll never win this war with that kind of soft headed sentiment!"

Having spent his ire, Tavington looked at Bordon for the first time, noticing his rumpled uniform. "What's the matter, Bordon? Did you sleep in your clothes?" With a wicked grin, thinking of the night of passion he'd had the night before, he continued, "I can assure you that I most certainly did not spend the night in _my_ clothes. That woman from the party was as extraordinarily talented in bed as she was beautiful."

Noting Bordon's baleful stare, he rolled his eyes and asked, "What _is_ it, Bordon?"

"Have you not even given a thought as to how Mrs Martin spent last night?" he demanded, barely controlling his fury. "She discovered you in bed with that woman when I escorted her back from the party."

"I can't see how this is any of your business," Tavington snapped. "Or Anne's, for that matter. It's not as if I'm married to her."

"My God, man, she's about to give birth to your child!" Bordon exclaimed. "Or have you forgotten that?"

"Actually, I have given the matter some thought," Tavington said casually. "It's time to send Mrs Martin back to her husband, I think. I've adequately made my point to the Martins, so it's time to move on. It was quite pleasurable to...educate....her, but it's gotten tiresome. She is awfully young, after all, and she's beginning to bore me."

Bordon was speechless with disgust. Tavington's cavalier attitude about Anne sickened him.

"She's within weeks of giving birth!" Bordon had finally found his voice. "You just can't turn her out at the gates of the fort!"

Tavington rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I have no intention of doing any such thing," he said. "In fact, considering that you are so concerned about the fate of Mrs Martin, why don't you escort her home?"

"You would allow that?" Bordon asked, incredulous.

"Of course," Tavington said offhandedly. "I don't hate the woman, nor do I wish her any harm." After a pause, he added, "And there is the little matter of her carrying my child, which makes her safety that much more important to me."

"When can I take her?"

"Right away," Tavington said. "She won't be able to travel much longer."

"I'll go tell her." Bordon said.

"No," Tavington said. "It is my place to tell her." As almost an afterthought, he said softly, "And I want to say goodbye to her in private."

Bordon looked at Tavington closely. As much as it galled him to admit it, it seemed as if the man cared more than he was willing to admit.

"You may take five men along with you," Tavington told him. "Plus, the slave woman, Sally, will accompany you to see to any personal needs Anne might have."

"Yes, sir," he replied, his voice deliberately bland.

Bordon did not dare express the conflicting thoughts that were running through his mind at that moment. As much as he hated to see Anne leave, he knew she was better off with her husband than remaining with the philandering, cold-hearted Tavington. Bordon's only hope was to remain available to pick up the pieces in the instance that Anne's husband was unwilling to accept her back after she'd been with Tavington all these months.

"You have two hours to make preparations," he said briskly. "We will meet you back here then." Tavington was already walking off in the direction of his quarters.

Five minutes later, he opened the door to his room and found Anne sitting by the window, facing away from him. She did not acknowledge Tavington's presence in any way. As he walked over to her, he noted her tear-stained cheeks.

"Anne," he said softly as he put his hands on her shoulders, then reached up to brush a tear from her face.

She remained silent, but continued to twist the handkerchief she held in her lap.

"I have some good news for you," he said.

She looked up at him for the first time, waiting for him to continue.

"Come over here and sit by me and I'll tell you," he said, taking her hand and leading her over to the bed.

"I've decided to let you go back to your husband," he said after they'd seated themselves at the end of the bed. Leaning over to kiss her tenderly, he said, "Merry Christmas, Anne."

"Just like that?" Anne asked, not quite believing him. Looking at him with narrowed eyes, she said, "Oh, I think I understand now. It would be rather awkward for you take a new mistress when your old one is still around, great with child."

Tavington sighed in irritation. He despised jealous women. However, he wanted to end it with Anne with as little fuss as possible.

Leaning his forehead against hers, he put his arms around her. "You know it cannot work out between us in the long run," he said earnestly. Kissing her again, he continued, ""You aren't in love with me; that's just your pride talking."

"You're right," she admitted. "You know, all this time I've been with you, I've dreamed of this day, when I'd finally get to go home to Gabriel. But now that it's going to happen, I'm scared. I'm afraid he won't want me back because I'm carrying your child."

"If he doesn't, then perhaps he doesn't love you as much as you thought he did," Tavington said. "Do you doubt his love for you?"

"No. Not really. I'm not sure." Anne wasn't sure about anything any more.

"Let's not talk any more," Tavington said, easing Anne back onto the bed. "Let's say goodbye properly...something for you to remember me by."

"I think you've given me quite enough to remember you by," Anne said with a cynical laugh as she placed his hand on her stomach at the precise moment the baby chose to kick.

"Oh!" he said, the barest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "He's an active little fellow, isn't he?"

"You could say that," she said. "The kicking keeps me awake most nights."

"Just like his father, hmm?"

"Oh, yes." Anne said, finally giving him a wan smile. "No doubt about that."

With his arms still around Anne, Tavington kissed her hungrily as he began to slowly undress her.

As the familiar feelings of pleasure began washing over her, Anne's anger at him melted away like snow in the morning sun. She clung desperately to Tavington as he started making love to her, urging him on. The sex was hard and furious, their passion spent quickly. Afterwards, they lay side by side, both panting raggedly.

A few minutes later, Tavington got out of bed and walked to the window, still naked. Several mounted dragoons were milling about near a waiting carriage in the courtyard. Captain Bordon stood talking to the carriage's driver, while Anne's maidservant, Sally was placing packages inside the carriage.

"It looks as if Bordon is nearly ready to leave," Tavington said. Looking back at Anne who was sitting on the side of the bed, he continued, "Time to get ready to go, my sweet."

"All right," she said hesitantly.

A short time later, Tavington helped Anne up into the carriage, where Sally already sat waiting for her. Standing outside the open carriage door, he handed her a large sum of money and said, "If you need anything at all for the baby or yourself, have word sent and I will see to it. If you need my protection, never hesitate to ask for it." Taking her hands, he leaned forward and gave her a last, tender kiss. "Remember me," he whispered in her ear. After Anne gave him a long, penetrating gaze, he stepped back suddenly, turned and hurried away, without looking back.

---  
A/N "By blow" is eighteenth century slang to refer to a child born out of wedlock. It was a somewhat more polite way of referring to such a child than "bastard", but not quite so genteel as the euphemism, "natural child".

Next chapter: Bittersweet Homecoming


	12. Bittersweet Homecoming

As soon as Tavington had walked off, Bordon came over to the carriage. "We're ready to leave, Anne," he said softly, taking her hand. "Where do you want me to take you?"

"Pembroke," she said resolutely. "That is, if my parent's home was not burned."

"It's still there," he assured her. "It is just as it was when you last saw it."

"I'd like to start running my father's business again, but I'd imagine the stock has all been plundered," she continued.

"You're right, it's gone," he said. "The rebel militia had taken it all by the next time we passed through the town." He didn't mention that the dragoons had planned to plunder it all themselves if the rebels hadn't beaten them to it. They'd taken small stuff they could easily carry after burning the church, but the large items had no doubt ending up with Benjamin Martin's group.

"Let's go, then," Anne told him, sighing loudly, not looking forward to this particular trip.

Bordon nodded miserably, giving a signal to the waiting men. After quickly mounting his horse, he slowly led the group out of the fort.

Late that night, they quietly slipped into Pembroke. Just before reaching town, the Dragoons veered off, following the carriage from a distance in case that any rebels might observe their approach. Pausing briefly, Bordon dismounted, handing his horse's reins to one of the men. He got into the carriage with Anne to ride the rest of the way into town.

"I'm going to miss you," Anne said to Bordon as the carriage slowly rumbled into Pembroke. "More than you know." Sighing loudly, she said, "I wish things could be different between us."

"No more than I wish it," he said, taking her hands into his own. "You do know that I'll always be here for you if you need me. I would do anything for you." Leaning over to kiss her, he said, "You know where to find me if it doesn't work out with your husband."

"I know," she said, smiling.

As the carriage came to a halt in front of her parent's home. Anne was surprised to see a candle burning in the window of the front room.

"Somebody's there!" she said, alarmed. At that moment, the door opened and a small, middle aged woman stepped out cautiously.

"That's my mother's sister, Mary Ellis," Anne told Bordon, relieved. "I was afraid strangers had moved into the house."

"Who is it?" Mary Ellis called out, still standing in the doorway. She wasn't expecting anyone.

Turning to Sally, Bordon said, "You get out first so Mrs Martin's aunt isn't startled." After the slave woman obeyed, Anne slowly climbed out next, taking Sally's hand as she did so.

"Oh, dear Lord, it's Anne!" Mary exclaimed, as she hurried over to the carriage. "Gabriel told me that you'd been kidnapped by the Green Dragoons, by that horrible man, Colonel Tavington."

"It's so good to see you, Aunt Mary," Anne said, rushing to hug her. As the women enjoyed an emotional reunion, Bordon stepped from the carriage after seeing that his men had taken up strategic positions in the shadows.

Mrs Ellis stepped back fearfully when she noticed Bordon, recognizing his uniform.

"Don't be scared," Anne told her. "Captain Bordon brought me home. He's been a perfect gentleman."

"Obviously, someone has not been, though," Mary observed, not unkindly. She'd noticed Anne's pregnancy when she'd hugged her.

"I'd really rather not talk about that now," Anne said, frowning. "We'll talk later."

Bordon had stepped to the front of the carriage, directing the carriage driver to help Sally bring Anne's things into the house, telling him to be quick about it.

Later, once all of Anne's belongings had been brought into the house and Bordon saw that she would be safe, he stood at the door with Anne to say goodbye. Mary, sensing the feelings between them, had gone into the kitchen to allow them to part in private.

"I will always love you, you know," Bordon told her as he took her into his arms.

"I know," she said, leaning her head against his shoulder. "And I will likewise hold you in my heart, always wondering how it might have been for us. I wish we'd had more time together."

"You can still change your mind," he said. "You don't have to go back to your husband."

"I have to give my marriage a chance to work," she said firmly. "I'd always wonder if I'd done the right thing if I didn't."

Bordon did not reply, but bent his head to give her a lingering goodbye kiss. After a long interval, he broke away reluctantly.

"I'd better go," he eventually said glumly, turning to the door.

"I love you!" Anne called out quickly as he stepped through the door.

He paused for a moment, looked back at Anne with a slight smile, then continued on, resigned to the situation..

Anne stood at the window watching until long after he was gone.

As she turned away from the window, Mary was standing behind her. "Do you want to talk now?" she asked. "I've made us some tea."

The younger woman nodded, following her aunt into the kitchen.

A few minutes later, the women were seated in front of the fire, each holding a steaming cup of tea. "Why did the British let you go?" her aunt asked.

"I don't really know," Anne said vaguely. "Perhaps because of Christmas. They never really told me why."

"I guess it doesn't matter why," Mary said. "You're home and that's all that matters.

"How long have you been staying here?" Anne asked her aunt, changing the subject.

"Quite a while," Mary said. "Gabriel asked me to stay here until you could come home. He was afraid squatters would take over the house unless someone lived here."

"Have you seen Gabriel?"

"Well, the British had captured him, but they let him go," Mary said. "He'd just retuned home yesterday and he visited me then."

"He was here?" Anne asked nervously.

"Yes, but he left to go find his father," the older woman said. "He'll be back within a few days, though. He comes to Pembroke fairly often, as many of his father's men have moved into the empty houses after that awful fire."

"He'll be surprised to find me home," Anne said with a timid smile.

"That's not the only thing he'll be surprised by," Mary said, looking pointedly at Anne's stomach. "I assume that the man who brought you here is responsible for your condition?"

"No, actually he isn't," Anne said, clearly uncomfortable to be discussing the matter. "And Gabriel already knows. I saw him when he was in British custody."

"He didn't mention seeing you," Mary said. "I wonder why?"

Anne hung her head. She knew why.

Mary did not notice Anne's red face. "Who is the father of your child, then?" she asked again. "Could it possibly be Gabriel?"

"If only it could be!" Anne said fervently. "But there's almost no chance of that."

"Who, then?"

Looking away in embarrassment, she said in a low voice, "Colonel Tavington."

"Oh, my." Mary Ellis knew of Tavington's reputation as "Bloody Tavington the Butcher" and immediately visualized Anne being subject to frequent harsh, brutal violations. "You poor dear."

"It's getting late, Aunt Mary," Anne said, forcing a yawn. "I really ought to get some rest." She didn't want to discuss her life with William with her aunt any longer.

"Of course, dear," she said. "Your bedroom is just as you left it."

"Thank you," the younger woman said, relieved that she didn't press the matter.. "I'll see you in the morning then."

Anne had trouble sleeping that night; she'd become used to sharing a bed with Tavington and it was odd to be sleeping alone again after so long.

As she stared sleeplessly up at the ceiling, her mind swirled in confusion about the three men in her life and all she'd been through in the last year. After tossing and turning for several hours, she finally fell into a fitful slumber shortly before dawn.

---

Next Chapter: Awkward Reunion


	13. Awkward Reunion

Anne rose early the next morning, but by the time she'd dressed and gone downstairs, Mary had already finished cooking breakfast.

"Did you sleep well, dear," Mary asked when she saw Anne in the doorway.

"The baby kicked quite a bit," the younger woman said, unwilling to tell her the real reason for her insomnia.

"Well, you can take a nap later if you get sleepy," her aunt said reasonably. "Your time is drawing near and you'll need all the rest you can get before the baby is born."

As the women were eating breakfast a few minutes later, they heard a couple of horses approaching at the back of the house. A moment later, Gabriel Martin and his father came in through the back door.

"Gabriel!" She got up as quickly as she could in her condition. Her pregnancy was obvious to all as she staggered over to embrace her husband.

"Oh, my God," the young man exclaimed.

Anne was the last person Gabriel expected to see. Feeling distinctly uncomfortable, he disengaged himself from her embrace. "I've got to go tend to the horses," he muttered, then slammed out the back door without another word.

Anne was stunned, looking around in embarrassment.

Benjamin Martin cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about that," he said apologetically. "I think I'll go out there and help him. We'll be back shortly."

"Come on dear," Mary said as Anne stared, dumbfounded, at the back door.

After a moment, she burst into tears, unable to hold her emotions back any longer.

"Let it out," her aunt urged as she held the young woman in her arms.

"H-he knows!" Anne said a short time later as she was able to collect herself to some degree.

"Knows what?" The older woman was puzzled.

"That the baby is Tavington's," she explained.

"Why on Earth did you tell him that for?" her aunt demanded. "You'd have been better off letting him think that the child was his."

"I didn't tell him," she said. "Tavington did, when he let me see Gabriel at the fort. He made sure to let Gabriel and all his men know that he'd gotten me with child"

"What a despicable man!" Mary said. "It would seem that all I've heard about him is true, then."

"It's a bit more complicated than that, Auntie," Anne said with a sigh. "But you're right, he usually was not very much of a gentleman."

"Gabriel will come around," Mary assured her. "He has to realize that you had no choice about what happened. Once he sees that darling little baby, his heart will melt."

"I hope you're right," the younger woman said doubtfully. "Somehow, I don't think it's going to be all that easy, however."

After following Gabriel out of the house, Benjamin Martin found his son leaning against a tree near where they'd tied up the horses.

"Want to talk about it, son?" the elder Martin said. "You haven't said much since the British released you." Scratching his head, he said, "I would have expected that you would have been glad to see Anne home at last."

"You saw her condition?" Gabriel asked.

"Yes, I did," his father replied.

"She's carrying Tavington's bastard!" the young man exclaimed.

"You don't know that for sure," Ben noted.

"Tavington told me so himself when I was locked up," Gabriel told his father bitterly.

"I would hardly take the word of _that_ man," his father said. "I'd advise you just to wait until the baby is born. Then you'll know." Putting a hand on Gabriel's arm, he continued, "And if it turns out that Tavington told you the truth, well, you must remember that Anne didn't have any choice in the matter. I'm sure he had to have forced himself on her."

"Maybe." The young man said, unconvinced. "I don't know what to think anymore."

Inside the house, Anne turned to her aunt and said, "I'm going to go upstairs and unpack my things. If Gabriel decides he wants to talk to me, he can come up there."

Anne had acquired quite a few belongings during her time with Tavington. He'd turned out to be quite generous, usually bringing her something when returning to the Sizemore estate from forays into the countryside. Though Anne suspected that much of it was plunder, she never asked him and he'd never told her. She'd also accumulated a decent wardrobe, as Tavington had enjoyed dressing her nicely.

After hanging up a few gowns, Anne hid the money Tavington had given her in a concealed drawer in her desk. The desk had once belonged to her father, who'd given it to her when he'd gotten a new one for himself. She wanted to keep this money to use for the baby and she was afraid Gabriel might take it to use to buy more guns and other supplies with. Though she hated to deceive him, she was determined that the baby would come first and would want for nothing.

She walked to the window after she'd secured the money and looked out at the ruins of the burned church . Tears came to her eyes as she remembered that horrible day. Deep in thought, Anne did not hear Gabriel open the door.

"What are you thinking about," he demanded. "Are you longing for him?"

Anne jumped, startled. "What?"

With a snort, he continued, "Did Tavington get tired of you? Is that why he finally let you go?"

"Why are you acting like this?" Anne whined. "You don't have any idea how awful these last months have been for me!"

"Not too awful, it would seem," Gabriel observed as he picked up a gold bracelet, a ruby ring, and a solid silver hairbrush from a small table near her bed. Holding the items up with one hand, he demanded. "What are all this things? Payment for services rendered?"

She was speechless, not quite believing that it was her beloved Gabriel speaking so spitefully to her.

"You know that all this stuff is stolen, no doubt from Patriot women," he said. "How does it feel to wear jewellery that belonged to women who were most likely murdered by your lover? Or didn't you ever think about where it came from?" Throwing the jewellery down contemptuously, he said, "You've changed! You're not the same girl I married!" He threw open her bedroom door, slamming it behind him as he left.

Ben Martin was sitting in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee with Mary when Gabriel came stamping down the stairs.

When she saw the look of rage on Gabriel's face, Mary looked at Ben in dismay. "I have some chores to do, so I think I'll leave you two to talk."

After she'd left the room, Ben turned to Gabriel. "Have a seat, son. Let's talk for awhile."

The younger man obeyed, but remained silent.

"It seems that your reunion with Anne didn't go well," Ben said.

"You could say that," Gabriel said with a snort. "I went up there to apologize for the way I'd acted when we first got here..."

"And did you?" his father interrupted.

"No," Gabriel said. "When I opened the door, I saw that Anne had several fancy new gowns hanging up, and a few pieces of expensive jewellery on a table by her bed; jewellery I couldn't afford to buy her. Things that Tavington had to have given her." Clenching and unclenching his hands in barely controlled rage, he continued, "Everything became clear to me then. She's been Tavington's mistress. I've lost her; she doesn't love me any more."

"And you're going to let it go at that?" Ben asked. "You're going to let that bastard win? If you love her, you have to fight for her." Putting a gentle hand on his son's shoulder, he said, "You still love her, I know you do. And she's still the same woman you married; she loves you. Don't let Tavington ruin your marriage."

"It may be too late to save it," he said, still hurt and confused.

"Only if you don't try, son," Ben said.

"It won't be easy."

"Nobody said it would," his father agreed. "Lord knows, marriage isn't easy even under the best circumstances." Rising to his feet, he said, "Why don't you go take those supplies we got up to Billings? I think I'm going to have a little talk with Anne while you're gone."

"All right," Gabriel agreed. "I'll take care of it."

A short while later, Ben Martin knocked on the door to Anne's room.

"Come in!"

Ben found Anne staring out the window as he came into the room.

"Oh, Mr Martin," Anne said. "I thought Gabriel might have come back."

"I sent him over to see Billings on an errand," Ben explained. "I thought it would give us a chance to talk." He looked around the room and quietly noted the fancy clothing and expensive jewellery that Gabriel had spoken of.

"Yes, I'd like that."

"I've got something for you," he said, reaching into his pocket to pull out the pendant he'd originally given her on the day she'd married Gabriel. "I've been carrying it around all this time, saving it for when you could finally come home."

Anne's eyes lit up at the sight of the pendant. "Oh, I thought I'd never see that again. I had no idea where I'd lost it."

"I found it outside the remains of the church that day," Ben said quietly, as he stood behind her fastening it back on her neck. "That's the first inkling we had that you'd escaped the fire."

She turned away, tears welling as she thought of that dark day.

"How did you find out what happened to me?"

"Little Betsy Greene saw Tavington take you out of town on his horse," he said. "She hid in her parents' root cellar when the Green Dragoons put everyone in the church."

"Gabriel is acting as if I went off with Tavington willingly," Anne said, turning away. "I don't think he loves me any more."

"You know, he said the same thing about you," Ben told her. "You were with Tavington for a long time and you came home with child. Deep down, Gabriel is afraid that you fell in love with Tavington and forgot all about him."

"I could never love Tavington!" Anne cried. "How could I, after what he did to my parents?" Her voice dwindling to a whisper, she said, "But I did what I had to do to survive. Dreaming of finally coming home to Gabriel is what kept me going all these months."

"Did you tell him that?"

"I tried to, but he wouldn't listen!" she cried. "I don't know what to do!"

"You can't give up," Ben said firmly. "You married Gabriel for better or worse, and right now you're having some of the worse. Who knows where Gabriel's mother and I would have ended up if we'd given up every time things got bad." Leaning closer to Anne, he continued, "There's a very good reason why there were four years between Gabriel and Thomas. I won't go into a lot of detail, but suffice it to say that I did something to cause my wife to turn her back on me for those years. It was a bad time for both of us, but we eventually reconciled and realized that we still loved one another very much. We stayed the course, and that is what you and Gabriel must do as well."

"I'll try if Gabriel does," Anne said.

"Have faith," he said. "I know the two of you can find your way back to one another.

---

Next chapter: Anne Gives Birth


	14. Anne Gives Birth

One week later, in the middle of the night, Anne went into labour. Gabriel and Ben had been out for three days on a mission and arrived home just as she was giving birth.

Mary Ellis left Anne with the midwife, who'd been there since the day before, and rushed outside as soon as she heard their horses ride up to the house. "Hurry!" she called out to them from the door. "The baby is coming!"

The men quickly dismounted and followed Mary into the house, after tying their horses to a tree. As they climbed the stairs, they heard the lusty howl of a baby's cry suddenly come from Anne's room.

Gabriel quickened his step, taking the stairs two at a time, eager to finally see the child. The moment of truth had come.

"It's a boy!" the midwife told them as they entered the room. She smiled as she held the baby out to Gabriel to inspect.

As he took the child from her and examined him carefully, the tiny hope he'd had that the child might be his was instantly crushed. The baby boy had dark brown hair and piercing, ice blue eyes. Tavington's eyes.

He quickly handed off the child to Ben, then rushed from the room without a word. He couldn't stand to look at Tavington's son for another moment.

Gabriel hurried directly to the barn after leaving the house. He climbed up to the hayloft and went to where he'd hidden a couple of bottles of rum. Easing himself down into the prickly hay, he pulled the cork on one bottle and began to drink deeply from it. After a few moments, he began to feel pleasantly numb.

Inside the house, Ben held the baby as Mary looked on. Anne had fallen asleep, exhausted from her long hours of labour. As they gazed down at the baby, the identity of his father was painfully obvious to them as well.

"He's a beautiful child," Mary observed "Regardless of who his father is."

"Yes, he is," Ben said wryly. "But that comes from his mother!"

They both laughed quietly, glad to break the tension, knowing that there would be little to laugh about in the days to come.

"But I will be a grandfather to him, exactly as if he were Gabriel's natural child," Ben vowed, serious once more. "He's an innocent baby and can't be held responsible for who his father is. I will love him just the same."

"You're a good man, Benjamin Martin," Mary said quietly. "Much better than the man who sired him."  
---

In less than an hour Gabriel Martin had become thoroughly drunk. The more he thought of Anne bearing Tavington's bastard, the angrier he got. He'd tried to forget about what had happened and to love Anne as he'd done before, but he just couldn't do it. Since coming back to him, Gabriel saw evidence that the sweet innocent girl he'd fallen in love with was completely gone, replaced by a hard edge of cynicism. Though he knew the child was blameless, he would not and could not claim him as his own.

As he continued to drink, an idea took hold and began growing in his alcohol-blurred mind. Throwing the empty bottle down, he staggered unsteadily to his feet and climbed down the ladder in a haphazard fashion, sliding down the last two steps. As he shambled out of the barn, the cold air cleared his mind to a small degree.

He slipped out of the yard and headed up the street to see Reverend Oliver. A large cabin, which would serve temporarily as the church, had been hastily built behind the ruins of the old church near Oliver's small house.

"Reverend Oliver!" Gabriel called out to the preacher, who was just leaving the makeshift church. "I need to talk to you right away."

"Certainly, Gabriel," Oliver said, inclining his head. "What can I do for you?"

"Anne's had the baby," he announced in a flat tone of voice.

"Congratulations!" the other man said. "Was it a boy or girl?"

"A boy," Gabriel said briefly. "I'd like to have his birth registered in church records."

"Of course," Oliver said. "Let's go back into the church and I'll enter his name in the book right away."

"Now, then," the reverend said after he'd seated himself behind his desk and opened the heavy record book, where he kept track of the marriages, births, and deaths within his congregation. "What have you and Anne decided to name the baby?"

There was a long pause while Gabriel considered his words. "Well," he began slowly. "I've always believed that it's important to tell the truth, especially in God's house." After another pause, he continued, "The boy will be named after his father. William Tavington."

Oliver's head snapped up in shock. "You can't mean that!"

"I can, and I do," Gabriel said firmly. "Tavington sired that child and I will not give my name to a child that isn't mine."

"I can't imagine that Anne has agreed to this." The clergyman was appalled.

"It is my right as a husband to name my wife's child," he said coldly. "Please enter the name I have given you."

"I wish you'd think about what you're doing," Oliver told him. "Once your mind is clearer, you'll see that this is a big mistake."

"I have thought about it," the young man said. "And my decision stands. The child's name is William Tavington."

Oliver sighed loudly, but in the end, he reluctantly entered the baby's name as Gabriel had requested.

"Thank you, Reverend," Gabriel said. "I won't trouble you any further." He turned and walked out of the church without another word.

Ben and Mary were sitting in the kitchen having something to eat when Gabriel arrived back home a short time later.

"Where have you been?" Ben asked, looking up as Gabriel stumbled through the door. "You look terrible."

"And you've been drinking," Mary said, frowning in disapproval. She could easily smell the alcohol on his breath from across the room.

"I went to see Reverend Oliver," the young man explained briefly. Looking upstairs, he asked, "Is Anne awake?"

"Why don't you go up there and find out," Ben suggested. "She's been asking for you."

Anne was sitting up in bed feeding the baby when Gabriel entered the bedroom a couple of minutes later. She looked up at him expectantly, but waited for him to speak.

"I just came back from seeing Reverend Oliver," he told her. "I had him to enter the baby in church records."

"We've never even discussed baby names!" Anne protested. "You went and named him without me?"

"I'm your husband, in case you've forgotten," he said icily. "I have a right to do that."

"W-what did you name him?" She was almost afraid to ask.

"I named him after his father," Gabriel said flatly. "William Tavington."

"How could you do such a thing to me?" Anne demanded. "To the baby?"

"I just figured it was time that someone around here was honest about things for once," he said.

"I don't know if I can ever forgive you for this," Anne said quietly. "Please go, because I can't bear the sight of you at this moment."

"As you wish". After giving the baby one last glance, he left the room quietly.

--  
Next chapter: Tavington Returns


	15. Tavington Returns

Several weeks later, the Green Dragoons made another foray into the country for supplies and to glean information about any militia activity. They had made camp late one evening in the general vicinity of Pembroke after an exhausting and fruitless day running down leads provided by informants.

As the men gathered around a campfire to share their suppers and to relax, Tavington walked off by himself, deep in thought. A short time later, Bordon found him sitting on a fallen log staring off into the distance in the general direction of Pembroke.

"You know, she has to have given birth by now," Bordon said quietly, looking down at his brooding commander.

James Bordon had done little but think of Anne since leaving her in Pembroke. Remembering what had happened to his wife and son, he'd devoted an extended amount of time in prayer each night before going to sleep, asking God that Anne would have a safe delivery and a healthy baby.

Tavington turned around to look at his second in command, one eyebrow raised. "How did you know I was thinking about Anne?"

"Just a good guess, I suppose," he replied. "You've been keeping to yourself more since you sent her back to her husband."

Bordon nearly rolled his eyes at his commander, amazed by how self-absorbed the man could be, never once having noticed that his second in command had fallen in love with Anne Martin. And it continued to surprise him that Tavington even spared a moment's thought for the fate of his former mistress. The ginger-haired dragoon guessed that what really concerned his hard-nosed commanding officer most was the welfare of his heir, rather than the child's mother.

"I wonder if she had a boy or a girl," the other man mused. "I really hope she had a boy. Although a girl would not be so bad, either."

"We're not that far from Pembroke," Bordon pointed out reasonably. "Go to her. See your child. You won't be able to rest until you do."

He left unsaid that he himself would not be able to rest until he knew for certain that Anne had gone through the ordeal of childbirth safely. Bordon longed to rush to her side, but knew that Tavington's desire to see his child should properly take precedence

"You're right, Bordon," Tavington admitted, rising to his feet. "I think I'll go now."

Bordon walked with him to his horse. "Please give Anne my best wishes." It was all he could do not to jump on his own horse and gallop toward Pembroke, leaving Tavington in the dust.

"Yes, of course." After Tavington had swung himself up into the saddle, he said, "I shouldn't be gone more than a few hours"

"Be careful," Bordon warned. He hoped that the hot-headed Tavington would not do anything to jeopardize Anne's safety.

"I always am," Tavington drawled, before spurring his horse and setting off for Pembroke at a moderate canter.

---

Nearly a hour later, Anne heard the hoofbeats of a horse riding up at the back of the house. She sighed to herself, not ready to deal with Gabriel again so soon. He'd been gone for almost a week this time and she wasn't expecting him back home this soon.

Ever since the baby had been born, they had maintained a chilly distance when he was at home and Anne had come to look forward to the times when he'd go off with the militia and leave her in peace at home. She had given up hope that they'd ever rekindle the love they'd once known.

A knock at the back door startled her. Moving to answer it, she wondered who could be visiting at this hour of the night.

"William!" Anne was shocked to see Tavington on her doorstep. Opening the door wider, she said, "Come in."

"I've come to see the baby," he said, once she had shut the door behind them. "Are you alone?"

"Gabriel and Mr Martin aren't home, if that's what you mean," she said. "My Aunt Mary is staying with me, though, but she's already in bed for the night."

"Good." Noting her once-again slim figure, he asked, "Was it a boy or girl?"

"A boy," she told him. Taking his hand, she said, "Come on upstairs, he's taking a nap."

Tavington followed her into her bedroom where the baby was sleeping peacefully in a cradle near his mother's bed. Anne bent down and gathered the little boy into her arms.

"Your son," she said, handing him the baby.

Anne was amazed at the change in Tavington as soon as he was holding his son. The arrogant expression melted, replaced by the wide smile of a proud father. "Oh, he's perfect, Anne," he said softly, brushing one hand over the baby's face. "What's his name?"

"William," she said in a soft voice.

Tavington raised an eyebrow at this. "I must say that I'm surprised, though not displeased," he said. "I can't imagine that your husband was happy with that choice."

"Gabriel was the one who named him," she told him. After noting his shocked expression, Anne continued, "When the baby was born, it was obvious right away that he was yours. Gabriel ran off and got drunk, then went to the reverend and had him listed in the church records as William Tavington. He said he wouldn't give his name to a child that wasn't his."

"I don't know what to say," Tavington said, nonplussed. After an awkward pause, he turned back to little William, putting out his index finger for the baby to grab. "He's a good sized boy," Tavington noted. "And he's got a good grip."

"Just like his father," Anne said with a shy grin. As she reached out to take the baby's other hand, Tavington put his hand over hers. "We made a beautiful child together, Anne."

"Oh, yes," she said quietly. "And I love him more and more every time I look at him."

A moment later, they both looked up in surprise as the bedroom door flew open and banged against the wall.

"Tavington!" Gabriel stood in the doorway, eyes narrowed in utter loathing. "What in the hell are you doing in my home with my wife?"

After quickly handing the baby back to Anne, Tavington turned to face Gabriel. His hand casually rested on the hilt of his dagger. "I came to see my son, if it's any of your business," he said with a contemptuous sneer.

"Everything that involves my wife is my business," Gabriel said coldly.

"Not _everything, _it would seem," the older man said with a low chuckle. "I don't seem to recall you being in the room any of the many times that I took your wife to my bed."

"You filthy bastard!" The young man felt his composure quickly slipping away.

His eyes glancing to Anne wildly, Gabriel accused, "You've been seeing him all along, haven't you?" He grabbed her arm hard enough to bruise it. "Haven't you?" he repeated, shaking her. "You dirty whore!"

"Let me go!" Anne begged. "You're hurting me!"

"Let her go," Tavington said, his voice a menacing growl. Turning to Anne, he said, "Take William into the other room. Your husband and I have a few things to settle here."

"She's not going anywhere!" Gabriel shoved Anne, who was still holding the baby, against the wall. The baby boy began wailing in pain, awakened when his leg was roughly wrenched back after Anne lost her balance and fell awkwardly onto the hard wooden floor.

Ignoring Anne's distress and caring nothing for the wails of Tavington's bastard, he whirled around to face Tavington, unsheathing his dagger as he turned, ready to fight the bastard who had ruined his life.

Tavington reacted instinctively, not giving Gabriel the chance to attack first. He swiftly unsheathed his own dagger and plunged it deep into Gabriel's chest at an upward angle, twisting it viciously, as he drove the blade in to the hilt.

With an expression of shock on his face, Gabriel fell, his hands clawing uselessly as he struggled in vain to breathe. Within a minute, his hands fell lifelessly at his side, his rasping breaths ceased forever.

As soon as Tavington was satisfied that he was dead, he pulled the knife out and wiped it on Gabriel's shirt before replacing it in its sheath.

Anne, who was still sitting on the floor, soothing the baby went wide-eyed with shock as Tavington lunged out at Gabriel in order to avoid being attacked himself. Nevertheless, she automatically continued to see to her son's needs, as she could not quite process the surprise suddenness of her husband's death just yet.

--  
Next Chapter: Leaving Pembroke


	16. Leaving Pembroke

"Oh, my God!"

Mary Ellis stood in the doorway, clutching onto the frame as if her life depended on it.. The baby's cry had awakened her and she'd reached Anne's room just in time to see Tavington pull his knife from Gabriel's chest. She stared down in disbelief at Gabriel, whose eyes had already glazed over in death. A large puddle of blood was pooled beneath his body.

Tavington spun around to face Mary after hearing her voice, his eyes narrowed in suspicion at her sudden appearance. She shrunk away from him in terror, fearful that she was going to be next.

Afraid that she might alert the neighbours, he reached out and pulled her into the room. "Sit down and be quiet," he hissed, pointing to the bed.

After making sure that Mary had obeyed, he turned to Anne. Kneeling down beside her, he asked, "Is William all right?"

"Y-yes, I think so," Anne said in a quavering voice as he helped her to her feet. She looked down at Gabriel sprawled dead on the floor and burst into tears.

Tavington gathered her into his arms, murmuring gently as she let her emotions out. "Shh, it will be all right." He wasn't sorry for killing Gabriel, but he regretted that Anne had to see him do it.

Anne leaned her head on his chest. allowing him to comfort her. On a rational level, she knew that Tavington had no choice but to do what he did; he acted in self-defense and to protect her and their son. But on an emotional level, it was not only the death of her husband, it was the death of her old life, the life she'd always known and cherished before Tavington came into her life and destroyed it forever.

He tangled one hand into her hair as she cried, with the other resting protectively on the baby, who had thankfully gone back to sleep.

Mary still sat huddled on the bed, hiccuping and whimpering, too terrified to speak. As she watched the new parents with their son, she realized then that Gabriel had spoken the truth about Anne's divided loyalties. Anne had gone into his arms as if she belonged there and her actions were anything but the actions of an unwilling victim.

A moment later, they all heard someone come in the back door downstairs. Releasing Anne, Tavington unholstered his pistol as he inched to the bedroom door, silently indicating to her to remain quiet and stay back..

"Colonel Tavington?" James Bordon was standing at the bottom of the stairs.

Reholstering the weapon, Tavington called, "Up here, Bordon."

"What is it, Bordon?" Tavington asked as soon as the other man entered the room. "Why are you here?"

"I've got a report that Ben Martin's men are heading back to Pembroke," Bordon explained. "I thought I'd come warn you so you could leave before they arrive."

"Why on Earth, then, didn't you bring the men with you, so we could ambush them when they arrived?" Tavington demanded in irritation.

"There wasn't time," Bordon told him patiently "I decided it was more important to get to you quickly, instead of waiting for the men to dress and saddle up. I didn't want to run the risk of the rebels arriving here first and finding you alone with Anne.

Looking down, the red-headed dragoon noticed Gabriel's body sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood. "What happened here?"

"He came in on us unexpectedly," Tavington said. "Things got out of hand rather quickly." After a pause, he added almost casually, "He hurt my son."

Bordon looked over at Anne, who, despite still being in shock from Gabriel's sudden death, smiled hesitantly at him as she held up little William for him to see.

"He's gorgeous, Anne," he said quietly, reaching out to give her arm a squeeze, feeling it unwise to do anything more forward in front of Tavington.

Tavington was standing by the window looking out. "Let's go, Bordon," he said, pacing impatiently. "We need to get the men back here in time to engage the rebels." Turning to Anne, he said, "Pack some things for you and the baby; you're coming with us."

Anne nodded, knowing that she no longer belonged here. After putting little William down in his cradle, she quickly snatched up a few things and stuffed them into a carpet bag she dragged out from under the bed.

"What about me?" Mary Ellis asked timidly.

Tavington turned and regarded her carefully. Gesturing to Bordon he said, "Tie her to the bed and gag her. Martin will find her soon enough and let her go."

"I'd better go down first and make sure the way is clear," Bordon said after he'd secured Mary to the bed.

"That's a good idea," Tavington said. "Anne and I will follow you in a few minutes."

Anne turned to Mary to say goodbye. "Please tell Mr Martin that I'm terribly sorry and for him not to try to find me or worry about me." After Mary nodded, unable to speak because of the gag, she leaned over to kiss her on the cheek and said. "I love you, Thank you for everything." Turning away from the older woman, she followed Tavington out the door without another word, knowing she could never again live in Pembroke.

Tavington handed Anne the reins to Gabriel's horse once they were outside. "Here, you might as well take his horse," he said as he rummaged through Gabriel's haversack on the back of the saddle. "Your husband won't be needing him any more." He took Anne's carpet bag and secured it on top of the haversack.

"I suppose you're right," Anne said.

"Let me carry the baby," Bordon said. "You'll need both hands to control the horse."

"Thank you." Anne handed William over to him with the hint of a smile.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Tavington urged. "I don't want to have to fight anyone while we've got a baby with us."

Bordon nodded in agreement. He helped Anne to mount up before going to his own horse.

As they rode away, Anne paused and took one last look at the village that had been her home since childhood.

"Are you coming, Anne," Bordon asked softly.

"Yes, let's go," she said, encouraging her horse. It was time to leave her old life behind.

As soon as they'd arrived back at the dragoon camp, Tavington was all business once more. "Bordon, I need for you get Anne safely back to the fort with the baby," Tavington told him. "I am going to take the men back to Pembroke and see if we can't give Martin and his men a nasty surprise."

"Yes, sir."

Riding his horse alongside Bordon's, Tavington reached his arms out for the baby. After Bordon had handed him over, the new father held him close for several minutes. Several dragoons sitting at the nearby campfire started whispering among themselves, amazed at the sight of their hard-nosed commander cuddling a baby, but correctly surmising that the child was his.

"Take good care of him, Bordon, " he said as he kissed his son's forehead before handing him back. Without another word, he rode off in search of Wilkins to plan the raid.

"We should start back for the fort right away," Bordon told Anne. "I won't be able to rest until you and the baby are safe."

"I'm ready," she said with a loud sigh.

--  
Next Chapter: An Ending and a Beginning


	17. An Ending and a Beginning

Ben Martin split up from his men as they entered Pembroke just as the sun was rising the next morning, turning his horse toward Anne's house. He was worried about Gabriel who'd been feeling sick and had decided to come home earlier than the rest of the group. As he dismounted and led his horse into the barn, he was puzzled that he didn't see Gabriel's horse. Ben felt vaguely uneasy as he walked to the house, a sense of impending doom pervading his consciousness.

"Gabriel! Anne! Mary!" he called, alarmed when all remained quiet. He quickly mounted the stairs and heard a muffled moaning coming from Anne's room as he reached the top.

"No. No. No, it can't be," he said in a flat tone, almost refusing to believe what his eyes told him. As he stood in the doorway to Anne's room, he'd immediately been confronted by the sight of Gabriel lying in a pool of blood on the floor, still and quiet. A moment later, he noticed that Mary was tied to the bed and was the source of the moaning he'd heard.

Even as he rushed to kneel down by Gabriel's body, he knew it was too late to save his oldest son. He quickly stood and went over to the bed to release Mary.

"Who did this?" he demanded as soon as he'd removed the gag from Mary's mouth. "And where are Anne and the baby?" Ben suspected that he already knew the answer to these questions, but he had to ask.

"Tavington," Mary said, gulping nervously as she confirmed his suspicions. "I was in bed asleep. I heard the baby cry out, so I came to see what was the matter." She paused, overcome by the memory of what she'd seen. "When I came in here, that horrible man was standing over Gabriel yanking his knife out of him. I was so scared!" She shuddered, then began crying again, as she remembered the sight of the sharp blade dripping with blood.

Ben took her into his arms, patting her back in an attempt to comfort her. For a few long moments, they silently grieved together.

"What about Anne and the baby?" Ben finally asked. "Where are they?"

"She went with Tavington!" Mary told him. "Willingly."

"You must be mistaken!" He stood and walked over to the window, facing away from her.

"I'm afraid not," she said in a tired voice. "Before she left, she gave me a message for you. She said to tell you that she was sorry and for you not to try to find her. It seems as if Gabriel was right about her, after all."

Martin turned away, stunned. After a minute or so, he stood up straighter, resolute. He knew what he had to do now. Taking Mary's hands, he said, "I've got something I need to do right away. I'm going to stop by and let Reverend Oliver know what happened here so he can prepare Gabriel for burial. I'll be back as soon as I can for the funeral."

"Where are you going?" she asked nervously.

"I'm going after Tavington," he told her.

"Please, don't go!" she begged. "He'll kill you, too!"

"Not if I kill him first," he vowed. "I have to do this. For Gabriel. For Thomas."

Mary nodded in mute understanding.

"I'll have Reverend Oliver send someone down here to stay with you until I get back."

"Be careful," she warned, reaching up to give him a hug.

"Don't worry, I will.," he assured her. "The other children are depending on me."

A short time later, Ben Martin left the church after seeing the reverend, heading in the opposite direction from where Colonel William Tavington and his dragoons were now approaching Pembroke.

--

"Why don't we stop and rest for a few hours," Bordon told Anne after several hours in the saddle, now that they were well away from Pembroke.

"Good idea," Anne said, yawning. "I need to feed the baby and I'm so tired that I'm about to fall off this horse." She followed the dragoon as he turned his horse toward a clearing bordered by several large bushes.

A short time later, Anne sat on a blanket she'd found in Gabriel's haversack. She'd just finished feeding the baby, who was asleep contentedly on a second blanket near her. Bordon had tied the horses to a nearby tree and was now building a small fire.

"How's the baby?" Bordon had finished with the fire and had sat down next to Anne.

"He's fine," she said. "He'll sleep for a couple of hours, at least."

"I've missed you terribly," he said, taking her hands.

"I've missed you, too," she replied, sighing as she leaned against his chest.

"I'm so sorry about what happened to your husband."

"Thank you," she said. She sighed again loudly. "It's going to be very hard for me now, without a husband. I don't know how little William and I are going to manage."

"I know how you can manage," he said quietly. "Anne, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

"Do you mean it?" she asked. "You're not asking just because you feel sorry for me, are you?"

"With all my heart," he said. "I love you, Anne. I thought you knew that."

"You'd be willing to raise another man's child?" Anne had to make sure.

"I'll love any child of yours," he said earnestly "Never doubt that."

"Then yes, James," Anne said quietly. "I will marry you."

He took her into his arms, giving her a lingering kiss. "You've made me the happiest of men. I cannot believe my good fortune!"

"I'm the lucky one," Anne said. "Truly."

"We'll make arrangements to get married as soon as we reach the fort, then, " Bordon decided "Unless that is too soon for you."

"The sooner the better," she said. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him down on the blanket on top of her. "Isn't it about time we got re-acquainted?"

"I couldn't agree more," he said, smiling broadly. He bent his head to kiss her more urgently as his hands began exploring her body as if for the first time. After a few minutes of this, both were impatient for get on with it.

Though already hard, his erection stiffened even more as he felt her urgent hands rushing to unbutton his breeches. Its insistent throbbing was almost more than he could bear.

"Hurry, James," she whispered raggedly. "I've missed you so much."

Bordon gladly obliged her, reaching down with one hand to throw her petticoats up to her waist. They both understood that time was of the essence, as a rebel patrol could come upon them at any time.

"Take me now," she urged, reaching out to guide him inside of her.

With no further ado, he quickly positioned himself between her legs and entered her swiftly.

Anne gave a small sigh of satisfaction to have him fill her again. They'd only be able to make love the one time before Tavington had sent her back to Pembroke; now Anne looked forward to many days and nights of making love with her husband-to-be.

Their initial reunion was fast and furious, with both too eager for the other to completely savour the experience.

"I love you so much," he murmured as cuddled close to her, basking in the afterglow. He reached out to gently stroke her hair as both experienced the afterglow of their lovemaking. "And I promise to make love to you properly once we're safely behind closed doors."

"I love you, too," Anne said, kissing him gently. "And I'll hold you to that promise."

"A promise I fully intend to keep," he said. "We won't come out of my quarters for a week!"

"I can hardly wait."

---

Ben Martin rode aimlessly for several hours, never seeing any sign of Tavington and his dragoons. He eventually turned his horse back to Pembroke, knowing that he needed to be present when Gabriel was laid to rest.

As he approached the village, he saw black plumes of smoke rising above the treetops. He urged the horse on, fearing the worst. He found half the houses in Pembroke burned to the ground, Anne's among them. He hurried to Reverend Oliver's house, which remained unharmed, along with the new church.

Mary Ellis caught sight of him as he rode up and hurried over. "Tavington and his men rode into town no more than a half hour after you left," she told him grimly. Pointing to the church, she said. "The wounded are in there." Turning to indicate the cemetery where several men were busy digging graves, she continued, "Gabriel won't be the only one buried today. Eight of your men were killed."

Ben noticed a large purple bruise on the right side of Mary's face. "What happened?"

"Tavington wanted to know why you weren't with your men and demanded to know where you were," she said. "He wasn't satisfied with the answers I gave him, it would seem."

"Bastard!" Martin spat contemptuously.

Mary shrugged, knowing she was lucky not to end up as Gabriel had.

Later, as he stood with the other mourners at the mass funeral, Benjamin Martin came to a decision. He'd had enough. He wasn't going to fight any more and risk losing what was left of his family. As the funeral concluded, he sought out Mary Ellis.

"I'm leaving," he told her. "I'm going to find Charlotte and marry her. We'll wait out the rest of the war together with my remaining children at the Gullah village. I have run my course and will fight no more."

Mary looked at him in shock to see the broken man he'd suddenly become. She didn't try to talk him out of it because she understood all too well.

"Godspeed, Ben," she said, hugging him. "May the Lord go with you."

"What will you do now?" he asked her.

"Reverend Oliver has asked me to marry him and I've consented," she told him. "I'm staying here to help rebuild the town."

"I'm happy for you," he said sincerely. Turning away, he said in parting, "Until we meet again."

--  
Next Chapter: All's Well That Ends Well


	18. All's Well That Ends Well

A couple of hours past noon, Captain Bordon and Anne Martin finally arrived back at Fort Carolina. Both Tavington's and Tarleton's Legions were now quartered at the fort, having moved from the Sizemore estate just before the new year.

As they rode through the open gates, the sentry called out to Bordon, telling him that he needed to report to General Cornwallis right away. The dragoon turned his horse toward the mansion that housed the Lord General's office, with Anne trailing behind him.

"I think I'll get you and the baby settled first in my quarters before I report to the general," Bordon said as he helped Anne to dismount. "It shouldn't take long."

"Maybe you should go right in to see him," Anne said. "I wouldn't want you to get into any trouble." Smiling up at him, she said, "I can wait on a bench outside his office while you meet with him. William and I will be fine."

"Nonsense," he said. "We've been riding for hours and you need to get some rest. And I'm sure the baby needs to be fed and changed."

"I suppose you're right," Anne conceded. "William is getting a bit fretful and he does need a nap."

"It's settled, then," Bordon said. "After my meeting with the general, I'll see if I can find something you can use as a cradle for William until we can have a proper one made."

A few minutes later, after he'd carried what few belongings Anne had brought with her into his quarters, James Bordon headed over to report to General Cornwallis.

"The Lord General is waiting for you," the general's aide told Bordon as he arrived at the office. "Go right in."

Bordon acknowledged the aide with a perfunctory nod as he opened the heavy oak doors to enter Cornwallis' inner sanctum.

"Captain Bordon reported as ordered, sir," Bordon said formally as he walked to stand respectfully in front of the Lord General's desk, his bearskin helmet in hand.

"Captain Bordon," the general acknowledged. "Please sit down."

After the younger man had seated himself, Cornwallis asked, "I'm curious as to why you returned to the fort without Colonel Tavington and the rest of the dragoons." After pausing to take a sip of his tea, he continued, "And wasn't that Colonel Tavington's former mistress riding with you? I thought he'd ended his relationship with her."

"Yes, that was Mrs Martin, along with Colonel Tavington's new son," Bordon acknowledged. "Colonel Tavington had gone to visit Mrs Martin to see his son. To make a long story short, there was an altercation, and Colonel Tavington ended up killing Mrs Martin's husband. He asked me to see her safely back to the fort."

"She came willingly?" Cornwallis asked, raising one eyebrow in skepticism.

"Yes, sir," Bordon affirmed.

"So I take it that she and Tavington have reconciled their differences," the older man stated. "Why did he not escort her back to the fort himself?

"In a manner of speaking," Bordon replied carefully. "They have reconciled their differences, but they are not a couple again. To answer your second question, we received information that Benjamin Martin's militia was headed back to Pembroke. Colonel Tavington remained with the men in order to lay a trap for them, while I brought Mrs Martin to safety. He intends to return to the fort once he's concluded engaging the enemy."

"I see," Cornwallis said slowly. After a long moment lost in thought, the older man said, "You may go, Captain. I suppose you need to see about securing quarters for Mrs Martin. Or will she be moving back in with Colonel Tavington?"

"May I speak freely, sir?" Bordon asked, knowing he'd have to bring up the topic sooner or later.

"Yes, of course," Cornwallis said. "What is it?"

"I've moved Mrs Martin into my own quarters," he confessed. "I've asked her to marry me and she has consented. We wish to be married as soon as possible."

Cornwallis was nonplussed. He wondered why the mild-mannered dragoon would want to marry the well-used, cast-off mistress of William Tavington and risk incurring his superior officer's ire. The Lord General would bet that the territorial Tavington would take a rather dim view of his aide's interest in his erstwhile lover, even though he no longer had any use for her.

Raising an eyebrow at the dragoon captain, he said. "Does Colonel Tavington know of your plans? I can't imagine that he'd approve."

"Begging the Lord General's pardon, but I really do not have much concern for what the Colonel will think of this," Bordon said quietly. "He forfeited his say about how Mrs Martin chooses to live her life when he sent her back to her husband."

"Normally, I'd be inclined to agree with you, Captain," Cornwallis told him. "But it's not quite that simple, considering that Colonel Tavington is the father of Mrs Martin's baby. In that capacity, he does have a legitimate interest in the man who will raise his son. You are aware, I'm sure, that if he disapproves of the match, he is well within his rights to take his son from Mrs Martin, even if he cannot prevent the marriage."

Noting the younger man's crestfallen expression, he quickly backtracked, "Be that as it may, it may well be that the Colonel will eventually be grateful to you for seeing to Mrs Martin's welfare, as he apparently has no wish to marry her himself. I believe it will all depend on how you present the matter to him. You at least owe him the courtesy of discussing your plans with him before you post the banns."

"I haven't spoken about it yet with Anne, but I believe we will choose to dispense with the banns and have a simple ceremony with the Legion's chaplain," Bordon said.

"Just make sure you talk with Tavington before you get married," Cornwallis warned him. "You will save yourself quite a bit of trouble if you do."

"Yes, sir," Bordon said.

"You should also move Mrs Martin into a room of her own, at least temporarily, until you straighten out this matter with Colonel Tavington," Cornwallis said in a tone of voice that conveyed to Bordon that while this was only a 'suggestion', that he should view it as an order.

"Right away, sir," Bordon said.

"That will be all, Captain," Cornwallis said. "I look forward to attending your wedding."

"Thank you, sir," Bordon replied.

About forty-five minutes later, James Bordon returned to his quarters, having spent the time since leaving the Lord General's office arranging for a room for Anne and baby William. He found Anne dozing on the couch, with little William asleep in the bottom drawer of the room's chest of drawers. He smiled at Anne's clever improvisation of a cradle for her son.

Anne's eyelids fluttered open as she heard the door close. "I'm sorry, James," she said, yawning. "I meant to only sit for a few moments, but I fell asleep!"

"No need to apologize," he said. "I'm sure you needed the rest." Gesturing to the baby, he said, "Ingenious solution to the cradle problem, I must say."

"Don't worry," she said. "I removed your things from there before putting William inside. I've lined it with a few diapers so he'll be comfortable."

Seating himself beside her on the couch, he said, "I've told General Cornwallis that we wish to be married as soon as possible. He brought up a few things that we didn't stop to consider."

Anne frowned, not liking where this was going. "You haven't changed your mind about wanting to marry me, have you?"

"No, no, not at all," he assured her. "But he did advise me that we should talk to Colonel Tavington first before we go ahead with our plans."

"I don't care what William thinks," she said in a heated tone. "I stopped caring the moment I saw him in our bed cavorting with that other woman!"

"I agree, but General Cornwallis pointed out that Colonel Tavington has a legitimate interest in the man who will raise his son," Bordon told her patiently. "Legally, he would have the right to take the baby from you if he doesn't approve of our marriage."

"I didn't think of that," Anne said miserably. "I have heard of such a thing happening."

"I intend to speak with the Colonel at the earliest opportunity when he returns," Bordon told her. "But until we secure his approval, I've arranged for you to have a private room."

"That may be best," she agreed reluctantly.

"Don't worry," he told her. "We'll be together soon enough, I promise you."

-----

William Tavington, though tired, was in a reasonably good mood as he led his dragoons to the entrance of Fort Carolina early that evening. They'd managed to give Martin's militia a devil of a whipping, though Martin himself somehow managed to be absent yet again when his dragoons had ambushed his men at Pembroke. The man had once more lived up to his nickname of "Ghost".

Including Gabriel Martin, he and his dragoons had managed to eliminate nine rebels in the skirmish, though several had managed to escape into the woods once they recognized they were losing. Tavington hadn't lost a single dragoon, though several of his men had minor injuries.

As the fort came into sight, he frowned as he remembered another matter he had to attend to. Namely, he had to figure out what to do with Mrs Martin. He most certainly did not wish to pick up their relationship where it had left off, nor did he wish to marry her. He'd already sired one by-blow on her, but he had no desire to sire any more. While he intended to see that Anne and his son were properly provided for, he had no interest in her beyond that.

Tavington was pleasantly surprised a short time later when he entered his quarters and did not find her ensconced within. He had dreaded that possibility, as he knew it would have been harder to move her out if she'd already moved in. Tired from his long night, he wearily stripped off his uniform after ordering a bath from a slave passing in the hallway.

Twenty minutes later, as he scrubbed the dusty grime of the battle from his body, he was interrupted by a knock at the door. Sighing loudly, he reluctantly called out, "Come in."

The door opened to admit Bordon, with Anne following close behind, the baby in her arms.

At the sight of him in the tub, Anne began to back out of the room. "Oh, I didn't know you were taking a bath."

"Come in, Anne," Tavington growled impatiently. "It's not as if you've never seen me naked before."

Realizing the sense of his words, she reluctantly re-entered the room, but then busied herself with the baby once she'd seated herself on a chair. She thought it best if she refrained from gazing upon the unclothed body of the man who'd given her a son, now that she was about to marry someone else.

"What _is_ it, Bordon?" Tavington demanded. "Could you not have waited until later to report to me?"

"I'm sorry, sir," Bordon apologized, now unsure whether to broach the subject of his marriage to Tavington. "I'll leave you to your bath and we'll talk later."

"Never mind, Bordon," Tavington said, sighing. "You're here now. Out with it."

Before Bordon could reply, he turned to see Anne discreetly nursing his son. He allowed himself a brief smile at the sight of his son, before returning his attention to his second in command.

"Well, uh, you see…" Bordon stammered.

"Spit it out, man!" Tavington rumbled, wondering what in the world was making the usually self-assured Bordon so flustered.

"For Heaven's sake," Anne broke in, exasperated. "Allow me." Now facing Tavington, she stated, without preamble, "James and I plan to get married, and we would greatly like your approval."

"Excuse me?" Tavington couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "I don't think I heard you properly."

"You heard me correctly," Anne said. "James asked me to marry him on the ride back to the fort and I accepted."

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, his unasked question, "_Why Bordon_?"

Turning to regard Bordon, he said in a low voice, "Anne is my responsibility. You need not marry her out of pity."

Giving Anne a warning look to stay silent, Bordon said quietly. "I'm not marrying her out of duty or pity. Nor is it to help you. It's not about you at all. I love Anne; I've loved her for a long time now."

Tavington rose from the water, not caring who saw him in all his naked glory. Not bothering to turn away from them, he casually toweled himself off before pulling on a fresh shirt and breeches.

After seating himself next to Anne to comb out his hair, he calmly asked, "Is that so? How long has this been going on?"

"I think I fell in love with Anne the first time I saw her," Bordon confessed.

"How touching," Tavington sneered. "And how long has it been since Mrs Martin returned your feelings? Or has she? Perhaps she's simply looking for someone to take care of her?"

"William Tavington!" Anne exclaimed. "I love James, though I didn't realize it until you betrayed me on the night of the Christmas party."

"Ah, I see now," Tavington said knowingly. "It seems as if my assessment was correct, after all."

Putting up a hand to wave away their retorts, he said, "But, no matter. Whether you intended to or not, you've done me a great favour, Bordon, relieving me of the duty to see to Mrs Martin's needs. It's not as if I would have married her, you know." After a pause, he said, "So, yes, I will give my approval."

Tavington stood and moved to stand toe to toe with his second in command. "But let me make one thing perfectly clear. If I ever find that you've mistreated my son, Bordon, I will kill you with my bare hands. Do you understand?"

"Perfectly, sir," Bordon said, unruffled. "And I would feel the same way if he were my son. Your child is safe with me, sir."

Anne reached out and took Tavington's hand. "You'll always be William's father. I will never keep you from him."

"I appreciate that," he said. All business once more, he said, "I suppose congratulations are in order, then." He leaned forward and gave Anne a gentle kiss on the cheek, "Take good care of William." Turning to Bordon, he said, "Be good to Anne."

"Always, sir." Bordon affirmed.

-----

Three days later, Captain James Bordon and Anne Howard Martin were married in a quiet ceremony officiated by the Legion chaplain in General Cornwallis' office. Tavington gave her away, then stood off to the side cradling his son as the happy couple spoke their vows.

Other than Tavington, the only guests were Generals Cornwallis and O'Hara, Ban Tarleton, and James Wilkins. After the ceremony, Cornwallis hosted a lavish wedding dinner for the newly married couple in his private dining room.

Tavington didn't stay long after finishing his meal. He and Ban Tarleton left together, both planning to visit the brothel in town that night. He was a free man and intended to enjoy every moment of that freedom.

-----  
Next chapter: Epilogue

A/N: In disputed custody battles in the 18th century, custody was almost always awarded to the father, who was viewed as having more of a natural right to the children than the mother.

A phrase I used in the chapter, "a devil of a whipping" is a nod to Lawrence Babits' excellent book about the Battle of Cowpens, _A Devil of a Whipping._

New entry on my blog: _Two Tavington Themed Songs._ My blog can be accessed from a link on my profile.


	19. Epilogue: 12 Years Later

Author's Note: This epilogue was not included in the original posting of this story. I could not decide whether to write a short sequel to _Innocence Lost _or to write a really long epilogue. I decided on an extra long epilogue. I hope you enjoy it.  
-------

_Twelve years later_

As lightning shot across the late afternoon sky, punctuated by a distant rumble of thunder, William Tavington urged his horse on.

He'd been travelling all day, on his way back home to London after having spent a fortnight in Reading with his newest lover. He'd met the delightful widow, Sarah Tomlinson, at a ball in London the month before and this had been his first extended stay with her. They'd parted quite reluctantly very early that morning, with the promise that they'd meet again on her next trip into London.

The former dragoon had eschewed travelling by stagecoach, preferring to make the trip alone on horseback, knowing he'd make better time that way. Old habits died hard and Tavington felt much more comfortable travelling as he did when he'd commanded Tavington's Legion, rather than being confined in a sweaty, jouncing stagecoach with disagreeable strangers.

Though he'd planned to ride for a couple more hours before stopping for the night, he thought he'd best find shelter as soon as possible before it began to rain. The next town, Woking, was no more than two miles ahead of him, so he decided to spend the night at the inn there. He considered that it was likely better for the horse as well to stop sooner rather than later, as he'd not made many rest stops that day.

Tavington reached Woking before the rain began, finding a stable right next to the town's only inn, which had the oddly apt name of "The Carolina Wren". After paying to have his horse stabled for the night, he hurried to enter the inn with the things he'd need overnight, as the increasingly ominous clouds promised rain within a very short time.

The door opened into the inn's dining room, which presently boasted a smattering of patrons. Some were apparently local residents, judging by their conversations with the lone barmaid in attendance. Tavington took a seat against the wall which faced the door, again bowing to old, ingrained habits.

The barmaid came to his table a few moments later, after she'd finished serving a couple on the other side of the room.

Tavington looked up as she approached, favouring the buxom brunette with a tight, feral smile. Perhaps his stay would not be quite so tedious after all if he could persuade the attractive young woman to visit his room later that evening.

"May I help you, sir?" the young woman asked.

"I'd like a plate of whatever they're having," he replied, pointing at the couple across the room. "And I need a room for the night."

"Coming right up, sir," the barmaid said, returning his smile with an encouraging one of her own. "The innkeeper will be back soon, before you finish eating, and he'll assign you to a room then."

Tavington leaned back and relaxed as he surveyed his surroundings. The inn's dining room was clean and neat and looked as if it was a prosperous business. He was glad that his last minute choice to stop for the night had turned out well, as he'd stayed in some inns over the years that weren't fit to stable horses in.

The barmaid returned a short time later with a large bowl of stew and a tankard of ale. As she set the food down in front of him, she asked, "Will you be needing anything else?"

"I _could _do with a bit of female companionship later tonight," he drawled in a low voice.

Regarding the handsome traveller with an apologetic smile, she murmured, "The innkeeper frowns on us girls here doing such things."

"He wouldn't need to know," Tavington said lazily. "I would make it well worth your while."

"Well, I don't know…" she said hesitantly. The young widow needed the money badly and she did find the dark haired stranger most attractive. "I'll have to think about it."

"You know where to find me if you decide to accept my offer," he said briskly, turning to his food.

--------

"What am I going to do with you, Billy?" James Bordon asked his oldest son in frustration as they walked home. "Your mother and I have told you countless times that we don't want you starting fights with other boys."

"Josiah is supposed to be my friend and he told Emma Wilson that I was a bastard after he caught me giving her a kiss," Billy Bordon fumed. "It wasn't right for him to do that. He deserved to be thrashed for betraying our friendship."

Bordon sighed loudly. As the years went by and young William resembled Tavington more and more in both appearance and personality, Bordon knew that he and Anne could not keep the boy's true parentage from him much longer. Now that the other children were noticing how different William was from his siblings, it was nearly time for the talk that he and Anne had long dreaded.

"If Emma is your friend, she won't be listening to idle gossip," his father told him seriously. "And you are much too young to be thinking about courting yet, let alone kissing her. You're quite lucky that her father didn't want to thrash _you _for being less than a gentleman with his daughter." Looking down at the boy he's raised from infancy, he added, "You must learn to control your temper and not allow it to control you."

"Yes, Father," Billy said, dutifully. Privately, he was not sorry for teaching Josiah a lesson and he vowed never to completely trust the other boy again.

As the two passed the stable, Billy looked in the open door to see a new horse in one of the stalls.

"Oh, Father, look at this horse," Billy said, pointing to the animal, a black gelding. "He looks fast."

Allowing his son to distract him momentarily, he said, "A fine looking animal. He looks as if he'd have made a good dragoon horse."

"That's what I thought," the boy said, pleased that his father had agreed with his assessment. He knew his father had served in both Tavington's and Tarleton's Legions during the American war and often begged him to tell stories about his time as a dragoon.

After allowing Billy to look at the horse for a few moments, Bordon said, "Well, we must get back to the inn. The evening stage will be here before long and I'll need you to help with the passengers' bags."

"Yes, sir," the boy said.

---

As the barmaid was about to leave Tavington to resume her duties, James and Billy Bordon came in through the front door.

Turning back to the former dragoon, she said, "Oh, there's the innkeeper, Mr Bordon, now."

At hearing the name Bordon, Tavington's head snapped up to look in the direction the young woman had indicated. The man was heavier than he remembered, his ginger hair thinning, but it was most definitely his former second in command.

But it was the boy at Bordon's side that caught Tavington's attention, causing him to inhale sharply. About twelve or thirteen years old, the youth had an agile, wiry build, straight dark hair pulled back with a ribbon, and piercing blue eyes.

"Who is that boy?" he asked the barmaid, though he already knew instinctively.

"Oh, that's Billy Bordon," the woman said. "He's the innkeeper's son."

"_Billy Bordon_?" Tavington thought to himself, incensed. "_How dare he allow my son to use his surname and be referred to by a goat's name? Billy Bordon, indeed!_"

Walking away from Tavington, the barmaid called out, "Mr Bordon, there's a new guest waiting to check in for the night," indicating Tavington with a jerk of the head.

Moving to greet his new guest, Bordon stopped dead in his tracks when he looked at the man, his jaw falling open in shock. Though he now had a strand or two of grey running through his long dark hair, the man's appearance had changed little since the last time Bordon had seen his former commanding officer not long after he'd transferred to serve under Banastre Tarleton's command.

"Colonel Tavington?" Bordon choked out. "What are you doing here?"

"Calm down, Bordon," Tavington said briskly, instinctively understanding the reason for the man's nervousness. "I was just passing by on the road and decided to stop for the night, considering that it's about to rain. I had no idea you lived here." As if to confirm his words, a flash of lightning lit up the room, followed seconds later by a peal of thunder.

Turning to the boy, he said, "And this must be young William. He's a fine looking young man and it's obvious that you've been taking good care of him." Tavington had decided to wait to mention which surname the boy used until he could talk to Bordon in private.

"Do you know me, sir?" the boy asked, gazing intensely at the man. "Father called you Colonel Tavington. Are you _the_ Tavington of Tavington's Legion?"

"I should know you," Tavington snapped, outraged that the boy obviously had no idea of his true parentage. "I'm your father." In a gentler tone, he added, "And, yes, I was the commander of Tavington's Legion."

Before Billy could react, Bordon quickly said, "Why don't we find a private place to talk," leading them to a door that led to his office. "I really don't care to air my private business in front of strangers."

No sooner had the door closed behind the three, than Billy looked up at Tavington. "You're my…father?" he asked, bewildered.

Staring intently into the stranger's eyes, who were so much like his own, it suddenly made perfect sense to him. This was the reason he didn't look or act anything like his siblings and why people were always surprised when he told him that James Bordon was his father.

Whirling on Bordon, he demanded, "Why didn't you ever tell me that you weren't my real father?"

Before Bordon could respond, Tavington told him firmly, "James Bordon _is_ your father; he's the father who raised you. But I am the father who sired you."

Glaring up at his sire, the boy grated out, "Why did you give me up and why haven't you ever come to see me? Are you ashamed of me?"

"No, no, I could never be ashamed of you," Tavington told him, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's a rather complicated situation, but when your mother married Mr Bordon, we all thought it best if they raised you, as I'm a bachelor. Your mother thought it would be less confusing for you if I stayed away and let them raise you in peace."

"So, I'm really Billy…Tavington," the boy said hesitantly, trying the name on for size.

Bordon spoke this time. "Yes, son, that's your real name. We've always called you Billy Bordon because you're a part of our family and so that it would be less confusing for our neighbours," he explained for both the boy's and Tavington's benefits. Heaving a loud sigh, he continued, "Your mother and I have always planned to tell you about your real parentage when you got older, when we thought you were ready to hear the truth, but it seems as if fate decided that you would know sooner, rather than later."

"Is Mum really my mum?" Billy asked, completely confused.

"Yes, son, she's really your mum," Bordon said heavily, wishing that Tavington had not come to his inn, upsetting their lives yet again.

"But how could she marry you if she was already married to Colonel Tavington?" he asked, more perplexed by the moment.

"Your mother and I were never married," Tavington told him truthfully, knowing the boy had to hear it sooner or later.

"So I really am a bastard, then," he said dully, hanging his head. "Why didn't you marry my mother?" he asked quietly. "Didn't you love her?"

"Don't use that vulgar term," Tavington admonished him. "You are my natural child, not a bastard." Clearing his throat awkwardly, he continued, "Your mother and I were…ah, uh…_infatuated _with one another for a time, but we were not able to get along together in the long term."

"He's right," Bordon said, "I don't want to hear you calling yourself that again. Most boys have only one father, but you have two." He chose to ignore how Tavington whitewashed the nature of his relationship to Anne, knowing it was necessary for the time being.

"Who called you a bastard?" Tavington demanded.

"One of the other boys did when he caught me kissing a girl," Billy informed him. "But I thrashed him good."

"_He really is my son," _Tavington thought wryly with a tight smile. He exchanged a knowing look with Bordon, then said, "The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree, hmm?"

Before Bordon could reply, the door opened with Anne Bordon bustling in. "James, dinner is almost ready and…" Her words died in her throat as William Tavington turned to smirk down at her. She'd filled out over the years to become a rather attractive woman and was now noticeably pregnant.

"William!" she exclaimed. "Why are you here? What do you want?"

The years had barely aged him, she thought; he was still as intoxicatingly handsome as ever. But Anne was no longer as impressed by physical beauty as she'd once been years ago. Reaching for her husband's hand, she now preferred his steady, strong presence to the heady excitement she knew that Tavington was no doubt still able to generate in women.

"I don't _want_ anything, Anne," Tavington said, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice. "I was merely passing by Woking on my way back to London and decided to stop here for the night. I had no idea that you and Bordon owned the inn here."

"Why don't you stay for dinner with the family?" Bordon proposed "I'm sure Billy would enjoy finally getting to spend some time with his father."

Tavington looked down at his son, with blue eyes identical to his own looking up at him in silent, but eager supplication. "Of course, Bordon. I would be delighted."

Anne pressed her lips together tightly, unhappy at the turn of events, but determined to make the best of an uncomfortable situation.

"I will be serving in about a half hour, so if you'd like to get settled in your room, you have time," Anne told Tavington.

"That might be a good idea," Bordon affirmed. "The evening stage is about to come in and I'll need to be on hand to get the mail and register anyone wishing to spend the night."

"All right, then," Tavington said. "I'll see you shortly."

"May I show him to his room, Father?" Billy asked.

"Yes, you may," Bordon agreed. "Put him in room seven." As an afterthought, he added, "You are excused from helping with the stage passengers for today. I'll get Jim to do it for you."

"Thank you, Father," Billy said gratefully.

"Here's your room," Billy said a few moments later as he unlocked the door to room seven, then handed his father the key.

Looking around at the modest, but clean and comfortable room, Tavington said, "Thank you, Will. It will do nicely."

"People call me Billy," the boy told him hesitantly.

"Yes, I know, son," Tavington said. "But I hope you don't mind if I call you Will just among ourselves. It's what I was called as a boy and what my friends call me now."

"No, I don't mind," Billy said slowly, thinking about it. "I kind of like it. There's no reason why I can't be called by two names, just as I have two fathers. I can be Billy Bordon when I'm with my family and Will Tavington when I'm with you."

Looking out the window, which overlooked a small meadow behind the stables, the youth said, "I was just in the stables and saw a fine horse, a black gelding. Is he yours?"

"You like horses, then?" Tavington asked, pleased by the boy's interest. "Yes, he's mine and a fine specimen at that."

"I told Father that he'd be fast and he agreed with me, saying he would have made a good dragoon horse," he told his father.

"And so he would have," Tavington said, now smiling. "It seems as if you have a good eye for horseflesh." After a pause, he added, "I'm not surprised. All the Tavingtons have been good horsemen."

Billy glowed under Tavington's praise, glad to have pleased him.

"Do you ride much?" his father asked.

"Not really, no," the youth said, frowning. "Father only has a couple of carriage horses and they aren't very fast."

"Hmm," Tavington said. "Perhaps I will take you for a ride on Ares in the morning, then."

"I'd like that, sir," Billy said quietly. "That is, if Father gives me permission."

"I'm sure he will," Tavington said absently as he unpacked his bag. "So, what do you want to do when you grow up?"

"I'm not sure, sir," he said truthfully. "I've thought of becoming a soldier or perhaps studying law."

"What a coincidence," Tavington said, now more interested in the young man he'd sired. "I studied law before becoming a soldier. I'm sure you'll be a success at either of those. What school will your parents be sending you to next year? I'm an old Etonian, myself."

"I don't know," he said. "I'm not sure if Father can afford to send me to any place like that."

"I see," his father said in a noncommittal tone. He'd have to speak to Bordon about that before heading back to London. "It's about time for dinner, so if you would be so kind to show me to where we'll be eating."

A few moments later, the two exited the inn from the back door to head for the Bordon home, which was directly behind the inn. As they stepped outside, they met Bordon and a younger ginger-haired boy, who looked as much like Bordon as Billy looked like Tavington. It would have been completely obvious to any stranger who happened to observe them at that moment who was the father of each boy.

"Right on time, I see," Tavington observed as the group entered Bordon's home a moment later.

"Anne should have dinner on the table by now," Bordon affirmed, as he showed his former commander to the dining room which contained three other ginger haired children: two girls helping their mother bring food to the table and a younger boy already seated.

A moment later, Anne came in from the detached kitchen with the last platter. "Why don't you sit on the end, here, Colonel," she said briefly indicating a chair on the opposite end of the table from where Bordon had seated himself. She took a seat by her husband, with Billy seating himself next to his new father, and the younger children seated in between.

Once everyone was situated, Anne and the children all bowed their heads as Bordon said grace. Tavington did not follow suit, as he was not a believer, but he respectfully kept silent until the other man was finished.

As he concluded the prayer and started dishing out food to his children, Bordon said, "Children, I'd like you to meet Colonel Tavington, who was one of my former commanding officers when I was a dragoon."

After the children had murmured polite greetings, Bordon introduced each of his children in turn, "Colonel, this is John, who is five, Jane who is seven, Susan, who is nine, and Jim, who is ten. You've already met Billy, and we should be adding another child to the family within two months.

Tavington nodded to each child in a perfunctory manner, then said, "Quite a family you have there, Bordon."

Anne picked up the slight condescension in her former lover's voice. "Our children are truly a blessing from God," she said primly. "We would love to have more.

"So, Bordon, how did you come to own an inn?" Tavington asked, ignoring Anne's less than warm response to him. "The last time we spoke, you were all set to become a vicar in some small country church."

"Shortly after Anne and I returned to England in 1782, my uncle, who owned this inn, got sick and we moved in to help him run the place until he got better," Bordon explained. "But instead of getting better, he died and ended up leaving the inn to me in his will. It was a situation too good to pass up. And though I gave up my plan of being a priest, I've been a deacon in our church for several years now."

"You seem to have done all right for yourself, then," Tavington observed noncommittally.

"How about you, Colonel?" Anne asked tartly. "Are you _married_? Any other children?"

"You know I'm not the marrying kind, Mrs Bordon," Tavington drawled in amusement, flashing a wicked grin to the mother of his son.. "As far as other children go, I have no others that I'm aware of."

"Aren't you lonely?" Billy broke in, concerned.

"Billy!" Anne admonished him. "You must not ask impertinent questions of our guest. Remember, children are to be seen and not heard at the table."

"Quite all right, Mrs Bordon," Tavington replied with a short bark of laughter. "It's a reasonable question." Turning to his son, he said, "No, I'm not at all lonely. I have plenty of…err…friends who keep me from becoming lonesome."

Quickly changing the subject, Bordon asked, "So, what have you done since the war, Colonel?"

"I stayed in the Army for a couple of years," he said. "But it was deadly dull during peacetime and I had no desire whatsoever to go to India. I'd had enough of a hot climate for one lifetime and I also did not wish to serve under Cornwallis again."

"What did you do after leaving the Army?" Bordon prodded.

"I published my memoirs about the war, concentrating on operations in South and North Carolina," he said. "I'm surprised you've not heard of it. It has sold rather well and it's still in print."

"No, I'm sorry," Bordon apologized. "I don't have much time for reading these days and I really don't keep in touch with anyone from my Army days."

"I have a copy with me, which I'll leave with you, then," Tavington said. "You might find it interesting." With an amused smile, he added, "Cornwallis didn't, however, as I was less than charitable to him in the book."

"What are you doing now?" Bordon asked.

Tavington understood the unspoken sentiment behind the question: _"How are you getting by."_

Giving his former subordinate a triumphant smile, he said, "Oh, I have quite a comfortable income. It seems I had a generous uncle, too, who conveniently died without an heir and left his sizable fortune to me. I always land on my feet, Bordon. You should know that." After a pause, he added, "And the Army has commissioned me to write a textbook about cavalry warfare. It seems as if they're planning to open a school soon to teach both infantry and cavalry warfare."

"Where do you live?" Bordon asked.

"I have a house in London that was included in my uncle's will," Tavington said. "I also inherited a full retinue of servants to go with it."

As the meal came to a close, Anne shooed the children off to do their chores before bedtime, while the men returned to Bordon's office for brandy and cigars.

"A fine meal, Mrs Bordon," he said as he rose from his seat. "Thank you for your hospitality."

Anne gave a perfunctory nod in response, then turned away from him to clear the table.

"Father, may I join you?" Billy asked.

"After you've finished your chores, yes," Bordon assented. "We'll be over in my office at the inn."

Once the two men were alone, Bordon said apologetically, "I'm afraid I don't have a very well stocked liquor cabinet. All I have right now is brandy or port."

"I'll have brandy," Tavington said. "That will do quite nicely."

"I want to thank you for not mentioning that you were Billy's father in front of the other children," Bordon told him sincerely. "We, of course, will tell them, but tonight at the dinner table wasn't the right time."

"Think nothing of it," Tavington said. "But you should tell them soon, as I believe they'll figure it out for themselves before long. If the glances I was getting from your oldest son…Jim…were any indication, I think he already has an idea. He kept looking back from me to William and back again with a frown on his face all through dinner."

"You're right," Bordon said helplessly.

"What are you planning to do about William's schooling?" Tavington asked Bordon, changing the subject. "He mentioned to me that he might want to study law or become a soldier."

"Well, to be honest, I've not quite decided," Bordon said hesitantly. "It's rather expensive raising five children with a sixth on the way…"

"William must have a proper education," Tavington said flatly. "He's not your heir, so he won't inherit this inn or any other assets you might have." Pausing to take a sip of his drink, he continued, "I would like him to go to either Eton or Harrow, if possible."

"I can't afford to send him," Bordon admitted quietly.

"I know that, Bordon," the other man said in exasperation, rolling his eyes heavenward. "I intend to pay for it, as he's _my _heir. You've done a fine job raising him, but it's my responsibility to see that he's properly educated."

"Anne won't like it," Bordon said decisively. "I know she'll refuse to accept your charity."

"It's not charity and I don't give a damn what Anne thinks about it!" Tavington roared. "It's his birthright and I'll not be discouraged by Anne's misguided pride. You just tell her he's going away to school; she doesn't need to know any more than that."

"All right," Bordon agreed, knowing that Tavington was right.

Taking a pencil from Bordon's desk, Tavington quickly scribbled his address on a piece of scrap paper he found there. "Here's my address in London. Send me the bill for his tuition and anything else he might need. Perhaps you can send him up to spend a week or so with me before he starts and I'll take him to get what he needs, whichever is most convenient for you."

Bordon took the paper and stuck it inside his desk drawer, as he knew Anne never looked in there.

At that moment, a knock sounded at the door, then young William entered the room hesitantly.

"That reminds me," Tavington said when he saw his son. "I promised to give William a ride on my horse tomorrow before I left, if that's all right with you."

"I have no objection," Bordon said. Turning to Billy, he said, "But you should get to bed, as I imagine Colonel Tavington wants to get an early start in the morning.

"Oh, I was hoping you could stay with us for a few days," Billy said, obviously disappointed.

"I'm sorry, but I can't." Tavington told him. "I have a meeting with my publisher in three days and I must be in London for that." Smiling down at the boy, he said, "But now that I know where you are, I will come to visit you when I can."

Bordon rolled his eyes, just imagining Anne's reaction if Tavington actually followed through on that promise.

Turning to Billy, he said, "Now, off to bed with you then!"

After the boy had complied, Bordon turned to Tavington and said, "Don't make any promises to him that you don't intend to keep, Tavington."

"I can't promise to visit very often, but I will make occasional visits," Tavington said. "I meant what I said about that and the schooling as well."

Later that night, when Tavington was getting ready to go to sleep, a soft knock came at the door, Opening the door wearing only his breeches and with his hair loose, he found the young barmaid standing there hesitantly.

"I decided to take you up on your offer," she said shyly.

"Excellent," he said, opening the door wider. "Come in, before someone sees you."

After the surprise of meeting his son again after so many years, Tavington had completely forgotten about the young woman he'd solicited earlier.

"What's your name?" he asked after she came in. "I forgot to ask you, earlier."

"It's Mattie, sir," she told him.

"You've not done this before, have you, Mattie?" Tavington guessed, picking up on her slight unease.

"No, sir," she admitted.

"I see," Tavington said, undeterred. "Have you ever been with a man at all before?"

"Oh, yes, sir," she replied. "I'm a widow."

"Good," he said, smiling briefly, before taking her into his arms for a long unhurried kiss. "Why don't we go to bed, then," he murmured after a long interval.

Quite some time later, as the two laid side by side, fully sated, Tavington turned to the young woman and said, "I suppose you'd best be going. You wouldn't want Bordon to find you here with me in the morning."

Easing himself out of bed and walking to where his jacket was draped over a chair, he reached inside and extracted an appropriate sum to express his appreciation to Mattie.

"Here you are, my dear," Tavington said as he offered it to her. "I trust the amount is satisfactory?"

"Oh, yes, sir," she said, not having expected that much. "It will do quite nicely." She rose from the bed and quickly dressed, not wishing to overstay her welcome.

After Mattie had left, Tavington returned to bed and fell almost immediately to sleep.

The next morning, Billy woke up early, eager to ride his father's horse. Rising immediately, he quickly did his morning chores before heading to the breakfast table, wanting to make sure he didn't miss his father. The youth did not mention the horse ride to his mother, knowing instinctively that she'd not approve, but merely followed his father to the inn once they'd finished eating.

As the two entered the inn's public room, they did not see William Tavington among the travellers eating breakfast.

Noticing his son's concerned expression, Bordon said, "Why don't you run out to the stable and see if Colonel Tavington's horse is still there."

"He wouldn't leave without saying goodbye, would he?" Billy said in alarm.

Bordon knew that it was quite possible that Tavington had done just that, but merely told Billy, "It doesn't hurt to check. Maybe by the time you get back from the stable, he'll be here eating his breakfast."

Billy returned a few minutes later. "The horse is still there," he reported. Looking around the room and still not seeing Tavington, he asked, "May I go upstairs and knock on his door to see what's keeping him?"

"No, son," Bordon said. "I'll do it." Remembering Tavington's decidedly amoral sexual proclivities during the war, Bordon didn't want to chance Billy discovering his newly-found father in bed with some woman.

Bordon knocked on the door to Tavington's room a moment later and was relieved to hear Tavington telling him to come in.

He found his former commander fully dressed, standing in front of the mirror combing his hair.

"Pardon the intrusion, but Billy is downstairs waiting for you," he explained. "I came up myself, so he wouldn't bother you."

"I'll be down momentarily, Bordon," Tavington said. "I have something I want to give him."

"The morning stage is about to come in, so I'll see you at the stables later," Bordon said, moving to leave.

Tavington found his son a short time later, waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.

"Why don't you join me while I eat breakfast, Will," Tavington said. "Then I'll take you for a ride on my horse before I leave."

While they waited for Tavington's food to be brought, the former dragoon pulled out a book from his travelling bag. Handing it to his son, he said, "This is the book I wrote about my experiences in the war, Will. I want you to have it to remember me by." He opened the book and pointed to an inscription on the inside of the cover in Tavington's handwriting. "See, I've inscribed it to you."

"Thank you, Father," Billy said. "I'll treasure it always.

Fifteen minutes later, Billy followed his father out to the stables, where the stable hand had already saddled Tavington's horse. James Bordon had come out earlier to arrange this, as he was more than ready to see the back of William Tavington once more.

After stowing his things in his saddlebag, Tavington turned to his son. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, sir."

Tavington gave him a leg up into the saddle, then swung up to sit behind him. As he guided the horse out of the barn, they met Bordon walking down from the inn.

"I'll take him down the main street and out to a meadow I saw on the outskirts of town yesterday, then bring him back," Tavington told Bordon. "Would you like to ride with us?"

"No, go on ahead and I'll wait for you here." Bordon didn't mention that he didn't have a horse that could keep up with Tavington's gelding.

"All right, then," Tavington said briskly. "We'll see you shortly."

Tavington took the horse at a moderate canter down the main street of the small town, then urged the horse into a gallop as they reached the main road.

"Oh, this is almost like flying!" Billy exclaimed as they hurtled down the dirt road, generating a cloud of dust behind them. They reached the meadow Tavington spoke of, which had a fence bisecting it.

"Hold on, now," Tavington said as he guided the horse toward the fence. "We're going to jump."

After the horse neatly cleared the wooden fence, Tavington turned the animal back toward Woking. All too soon for Billy's liking, they arrived back in town, where his father slowed the horse back into a canter. Unnoticed by father or son, several townspeople going about their morning activities noticed the strong resemblance between the two as they rode by on their way back to the inn. By the time noon would arrive that day, gossip would have been spread all over town, speculating once again as to the true parentage of young Billy Bordon.

Bordon was waiting for them in front of the inn as they approached. He reached up to help Billy down from the horse as Tavington reined the horse in to stop.

"Did you enjoy it, son?" Tavington asked, not dismounting himself.

"Yes, sir!" he said. "Did you always ride that fast when you were leading the dragoons?"

"Not always, but a good deal of the time," Tavington told him. "I'm sure Bordon will be able to fill in more details for you after I'm gone."

Turning to Bordon, he said, "Please give my regards to Anne and thank her for her hospitality. I must be off, as I have an engagement tonight in London."

"I'll do that," Bordon said.

"Will you write to me, sir?" Billy asked. "I would very much like to correspond with you."

"Of course I will," Tavington said, bestowing a smile on his son. "I've left my address with your father. And I hope to see you some time in the near future."

"I'll look forward to it," Billy said.

"Goodbye, then," Tavington said. "I'll write soon."

And with that, Tavington turned his horse around and headed back to the road, not wishing to extend the goodbyes any longer.

Billy Bordon watched his father speed away until he was out of sight, then reluctantly followed Bordon back into the inn.

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Next chapter: Appendix


	20. Appendix

_What follows below is an account of what happened to some of the characters in my story after the war. The epilogue left me an opening to possibly write more about the post-war lives of William Tavington, his son, James Bordon, and Anne Bordon, which I may do at a later date. Because of this, I will only fill in the gaps of what happened with them between the time of Bordon's marriage to Anne and when we meet them again in the epilogue._

_---  
_

Shortly after his marriage to Anne Howard Martin, Captain James Bordon asked for a transfer to Banastre Tarleton's Green Horse dragoons, which was eventually granted, though not soon enough, in Bordon's opinion. There had been too much water under the bridge between Bordon and William Tavington and he felt that he could no longer serve objectively as his second in command. Captain Bordon, who was soon promoted to Major, remained with Tarleton's Legion until the end of the war, serving with distinction and honour.

Anne had urged, then begged her new husband to put in for the transfer, as she could no longer bear to have to associate with William on a daily basis. Though Tavington had visited his young son and had given her money for the boy's upkeep, she was still eager to get as far from him as possible in order to both put the traumatic events of the last year behind her and so that the baby would properly bond with his adoptive father.

And she knew if she was to make a successful, loving marriage with James Bordon, she had to put the past behind her and allow the sexual pull she still felt toward Tavington to die a proper death. Her future was with James Bordon and she needed to look forward to ensure that this future would be a happy one.

After first arriving in England after the war, the Bordons moved in with his sister and her family until he decided what he was going to do to support his growing family. Fortunately, the Bordons did not have long to wait, as his uncle's request to help run the inn came within six months of their arrival in England. By the time William Tavington turned up on their doorstep several years later, the Bordons were earning a comfortable income.

Colonel William Tavington served out the rest of the war leading Tavington's Legion, with Captain Wilkins now second in command. Though Benjamin Martin disappeared from the battlefields after Tavington's last raid on Pembroke, a new foe named Francis Marion arose to command the remnants of Martin's militia. Marion turned out to be as formidable of an adversary as Martin had been, with Tavington having his work cut out for him. The arrogant dragoon continued to live up to his feared reputation as "Bloody Tavington" until surrender came in Yorktown, where he was excluded from all the banquets that the conquering Americans held for their vanquished foes.

Following the war, Tavington remained in the Army for a few years, at loose ends about what to do next. After his uncle died in 1785 and left him a sizable fortune, Tavington immediately resigned his commission. Inspired by Ban Tarleton's intention to publish his memoirs, Tavington decided to do the same. The book was a big success, which greatly helped in repairing the tarnished reputation he'd gained during the war. Many years later, Tavington briefly joined the faculty at Sandhurst when it first opened, lecturing on cavalry warfare. He was generally recognized in military circles as the premier authority on cavalry, particularly light cavalry strategy and tactics, with the textbook he'd written being considered the definitive text on the subject..

William Tavington never married, but spent the rest of his long life living with a series of mistresses, living the life of an unrepentant libertine.

Anne Bordon began calling her firstborn son "Billy" soon after arriving in England. Her grandfather had been called Billy, plus this nickname had the added bonus of not immediately reminding her of who her son's father was. As he grew, he was known in the community as Billy Bordon, as neither Anne nor her husband wished to explain the complicated situation surrounding Billy's parentage to strangers, nor did Anne wish to continually be reminded of the tragedy visited upon her family by William Tavington.

Nevertheless, the older the boy became, the more he resembled his natural father, in both appearance and personality. He instinctively sensed that he didn't quite fit into his family, often wondering whether he'd been adopted.

Benjamin Martin kept his vow to never fight again, retreating to the Gullah village to wait out the rest of the war. He married Charlotte Selton shortly after Gabriel's death in a simple ceremony attended only by his remaining children. No children were born of this marriage, as the new Mrs Martin proved to be infertile. The Martin family left South Carolina not long after the war ended, settling in Kentucky. Ben Martin never really recovered from the deaths of his sons and battled alcoholism and what was then known as melancholia for the rest of his life. He died one year before the turn of the century.

Captain James Wilkins resettled in Nova Scotia after the war with many of the American-born dragoons from Tavington's and Tarleton's Legions. Unhappy there, he eventually returned to South Carolina shortly after the turn of the century, after his first wife died in Canada. Not long after he'd moved to Charleston, he ran into Charlotte Selton Martin, who had returned to her home there after Ben's death. After a brief courtship, the two were quietly married, having known one another all their lives. Though neither of them had children of their own, they doted on their step-grandchildren from the Martin family.

As for the real-life characters of Banastre Tarleton, General Cornwallis, and General O'Hara, you can look them up on Google to see how their lives went after the war.

_And so, I've brought you up to date on Tavington, Anne, Bordon, and "little Tavy" up to the epilogue. As I said previously, I'll likely do a series of vignettes some time in the future about their lives from that point._

_The next Tavington story should be the one I started a long time ago and never finished: "All For Love". This will be a Charlotte/Tavington story and Tavington will be less of a "swine" in this story, which will be a challenge to write for me, as I quite like him as an unrepentant swine. Never fear, though, I won't make him squeaky-clean wholesome, as he'd not be Tavington any longer if I did._

_I have another Tavington plot bunny in my head, which I hope I'll also be able to develop into a story._

_I've posted a blog entry with a few photos that help illustrate this story. My blog can be accessed through my profile._


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